Into the Sea
by shishiswordsman
Summary: In the heat of battle, Luffy falls overboard, and Law is the only one to see it. Established LawLu. No MCD! Coverart by Himechiii
1. Bullet

**Chapter 1**

Law wakes up in cold sweat.

His chest is rising and falling in quick, shallow motions, and he feels like he's freezing despite the blanket covering him from the waist down. It was more violent this time, the nightmare, and it takes a while for the last dregs of the nightmare to dissipate. Law lifts a hand to his face, over his eyes, and he draws in a deep, shuddering breath.

The dreams feel like old friends by now, a broken record that won't take fuck off for an answer. He'd dreamt of a fight, one big and demanding enough to make sweat and blood mix on his skin in dirty trails of mudded red. He doesn't know what they were fighting for, or who their opponents were, but he remembers calling out orders to retreat to his crew, and holding his gun - but he doesn't use guns, makes a point out of it – in a tight enough grip for his knuckles to turn white.

He'd dreamt of finding the Straw Hats' ship burnt and demolished in the aftermath of the fight. And then —

Nothing, it doesn't matter. It was only a dream.

Law blinks away the last of it with the experience and tenacity of someone who's dealt with the same brand of crap dreams for the past decade-and-then-some. He tries to get up next, because the sheets are sticking to his sweaty skin and it's getting seriously uncomfortable, but he can't move. He's tied down by about three metres of rubbery arms and legs.

Luffy's tanned arm is hanging off the side of the bed while the other is wrapped loosely around Law's middle. Law can feel his fingers twitch as he dreams. Judging by the relaxed, silly look on Luffy's face and the line of drool that falls from the corner of his mouth, Law suspects that the dreams Luffy is having are much happier than his.

Law thanks the seas for the fact that it'd take a navy battleship to wake Luffy up. Or some beef jerky. Whatever works.

They're in the captain's quarters of the Thousand Sunny, a room that only ever sees use when Law and Luffy's crews meet up. The room is used as a storage space of some kind, filled with books and maps and weird contraptions Law doesn't even want to look at without full body armour.

He hears Luffy mutter something about a feast and meat and Sanji, and he rolls his eyes. The sun is yet to rise; even the seagulls are still asleep. Luffy's going to have to wait a few more hours before breakfast.

Law tugs on the rubber arm trapping him until Luffy mumbles something and turns around, releasing his hold just enough that Law can sit up and read a book while the he waits for the world to wake. He likes starting the day like this; waking by himself at his own pace, while Luffy snuffles and warms his side. It's serene, a moment reserved for himself and no one else, which is not something Law takes for granted. When one is contending from a spot as a Yonkou while also allied with the future King of Pirates, life tends to get a bit on the busy and bloody side.

He smiles and turns a page, and time flies. He goes through two books – both on World History and ancient myths, recommended to him by the Straw Hats' archaeologist – before the sunrise catches up to him. He can hear people moving around on the deck, talking and singing and preparing for the day, and next to him, Luffy blinks his eyes open sluggishly.

"Mhh, I slept well! G'morning, T'rao."

Law puts the book away, and when he looks down it's to see Luffy grinning dopily at him. He smiles back. "Good morning, Luffy-ya."

"I had a dream that we had a feast after I was Pirate King," Luffy starts, voice still laced with sleep. "I won an eating contest against a giant and then we went swimming. Guess that's something I can only do in dreams." He yawns and moves to sit up, only to pull his arms to himself with a cry.

"Wah! Where's my arm?" He cries, and yanks his arm back from where it was tied around Law's waist. This consequentially spins Law around, and he lands on his stomach without ceremony. Law grunts at the sudden shift, and he glares at Luffy half-heartedly.

Luffy cradles his arm to his chest and pokes it frantically, and the nearly panicked look on his face is enough to melt Law's ire into amusement. "What happened to my arm, Torao, I can't feel it!"

Law pushes himself back up so he's leaning against the headboard. "Your arm's asleep. That's what you get for trapping me to the bed for all night," he points out, but reaches for Luffy's hand anyway.

He starts rubbing slow circles on the muscles to get blood flowing in them again. Luffy relaxes against the pillows, letting his eyes fall closed for all of half a second before his stomach growls loudly.

He frowns contemplatively. "Do you think Sanji cooked breakfast yet?"

Law keeps working his fingers on Luffy's skin, though it's more for show and to shut Luffy up than for any other purpose — massaging rubber muscles is a bit of a moot point. He hums. "I think so. Is your arm better?"

"Yeah!"

"Then put your clothes on and we'll go see."

Luffy doesn't need to be told twice. He jumps off the bed with speed that makes his bare feet skid on the floor, and he tugs on his pants and shirt long before Law's even relinquished his blanket. He gambols to the door like a wild puppy as soon as he's done, hat pressed firmly on his head and his arm stretching far out the door.

"SANJI, FOOD!" is all Law hears before Luffy's rocketed himself outside.

Law chuckles. He gets out of bed at a much less hurried pace, pulls his jeans on and zips them up, and puts his coat on. The islands they're nearing are cold, winter islands, and Luffy's been talking about building a snow fort once they get there. The last time Law has built a snow fort was in North Blue, and he kind of looks forward to it, even though he's going to leave the actual building and frolicking to Luffy and his crew.

He steps out to the lower deck with Kikoku braced against his shoulder and his hat yanked firmly on his head. There's a crisp chill in the air, carried by the northern breeze, and the calm sea is shrouded in a veil of morning mist. It's going to be a nice day, by the looks of it.

The wooden planks creak under Law's each step, mixing with the sound of calm waves lapping against the ship's sides. He catches Penguin and Bepo waving at him from the corner of his eye, and Law waves back languidly. They're sharing a drink with Roronoa, leaning against the balustrade and laughing at something. He entertains the thought of joining them for a card game after breakfast. Roronoa is terribly easy to beat, even if one doesn't count cards.

As he gets closer to the galley, he can hear dishes clattering and the Straw Hats' cook yelling at someone – probably Luffy - to keep his hands off until the food is done. The smell of steamed rice and grilled fish lures Law closer.

One moment everything sees calm, like a picture perfect serene morning, and the next… it's not.

There is no word of forewarning; only a sudden charge in the air and then an ear shattering crash. The Sunny's figurehead is nearly blown off, and that's it. They're in battle before breakfast.

Law mutters a low curse and he rushes to the railing, eyes darting from the damaged figurehead to the two tall ships that now loom over the Sunny. They've appeared out of nowhere, it seems, hidden by the fog.

A cannon ball flies toward them, but it is deflected by a Strong Right. "Lay off the Sunny!" Franky yells, enraged. "Guys, get out here!"

The call to arms is not needed, as both the Straw Hats and the Heart Pirates march out on the Sunny's grass, some griping about the rude wake up call. They line up in the bow, facing the enemy as a united front.

In front of them, the Captain of the Straw Hats stands on the railing, arms crossed and a scowl on his face. Law casts his gaze up to the ships that tower over the Sunny and the Polar Tang, but he doesn't recognise them or the flag they sail under. Some no-name crew looking for a fight, doomed to fail.

A new round of cannon fire is deflected by one of Roronoa's flying slashes, and it ceases soon after without as much as leaving a scratch on the Sunny.

Luffy huffs, looking mildly annoyed. "We're being attacked, Torao," he states, somewhat incredulous.

"I noticed," Law says dryly. He fingers the red string wrapped around Kikoku's hilt absently, eyes trained on their attackers under furrowed brows. "I would have thought you'd be happier about a fight."

"But I didn't even get to have breakfast!" Luffy complains, and he hits his open hand with his fist. "I don't care what they want, I'm kicking their asses for that. Rude jerks."

Law resists the urge to roll his eyes. "The enemy doesn't wait for a convenient time to strike, Luffy-ya," he points out, and Luffy gives no reply. Law can see the muscles in his jaw working as he grinds his teeth, and he hopes that the attacking pirates' pantries are packed to the brim.

A voice bellows from the larger ship, booming over the waves still separating the ships. "Straw Hat! Brace yourself, because we are here to take your head!"

The brazen claim is met with a roar of approval, a cacophony of stomping and gunshots ringing through the air, and it leaves no room for misinterpretation. These pirates are out for blood. Neither the Straw Hats or the Hearts seem in any way bothered by the threat.

"You going to let them kill you?" Law asks, a hint of amusement in his tone. The enemy pirates introduce themselves, too, but Luffy's answering laugh is loud enough to drown the shouted words. Not that their name particularly matters in the face of the crushing might of both their crews.

"As if." Luffy grins, wide and toothy, and he cups his hands around his mouth. "Oi! I'm not gonna die so easily, bastards, so bring it! I'm going to send you flying!"

In the chaos that erupts at his command, Luffy leans down to peck a quick kiss on Law's cheek, and then he's off faster than the eye can see — disappeared into the heat of battle.

Law unsheathes Kikoku next and aims a piercing glare at the attacking pirates, suddenly made deadly by the sounds of the fight. He may be tired, and his body may be left sore and aching from the battles against the powers that sail the New World's waters, but there's no way in hell he's going to let this scum touch as much as a hair on Luffy's head.

A bullet flies past Law's ear. He tugs the brim of his hat so that it covers his eyes from view, and he joins the fray with a ghost of a smile still on his lips. This is what being a pirate in the New World is like, and Law feels alive.

* * *

...

* * *

They just keep coming.

Law blocks a blow with Kikoku's hilt, and his fingers curve to the shape of a room instinctively. He established early on that the attacking crew, while larger than both of their combined, is mostly untrained, cocky and quick to act carelessly. They are easy to defeat, and Law's left them mostly for his crew to toy with.

It's not like he's having trouble with his own opponents, either. He's fighting against two pirates, one using a harpoon gun and the other with two swords, and both of them are much more seasoned than their lowel-level crewmates. The fight itself is a bit one-sided, given Law's devil fruit power, but it's made interesting by the rain of sniper fire from the other ship. The bullets come seemingly out of nowhere, shrouded in the thick fog, and Law's nearly shot more than once.

Apparently, their attackers are infamous for their marksmen.

"Watch out!" Luffy calls out and his arms stretch to push Law down, just in time for a bullet to fly over his head. Law hits the deck with a grunt, and pulls himself up immediately, bracing himself against Kikoku. He opens his mouth to thank Luffy for the save, but his ally is already fighting some other group that's threatening his own marksman.

Law grimaces, he owes Luffy way too many tomorrow's already. His haki flares with a warning, and Law creates a room and dismembers the enemy who'd attempted to drive him through with a spear in the nick of time. Sweat gathers on his skin, smearing together with dirt and blood, both his and his enemies'.

He isn't surprised by their opponents' strength, not in the least. This is the New World, for pity's sake; expecting anything less would lead them all to an early grave at the bottom of the sea.

The fight takes him to a broken off piece of their opponents' ship, floating near the Sunny. He garners many bruises and cuts in the process, but in the end Law manages to take out both his opponents. Keeping track of their weapons and the bullets that come from seemingly every direction is difficult, however, and it takes every ounce of Law's concentration to keep himself from being impaled with something.

So, he almost misses it when Luffy swings himself back on the broken ship, the captain of the enemy pirates hot on his tail. Luffy runs past Law, shouting a 'hi Torao' as he skids on the planks and winds his arm around the Sunny's main mast several times. He uses the force of the recoil to plummet himself straight at the enemy captain, and then they're gone.

Law would follow their fight some more – Luffy's strength in the heat of battle is something he'll never tire of – but there's a small army of rivalling pirates hopping from piece of broken boat to the next, and they're headed to where Law's standing.

He takes them out and apart easily, but seeing their captain's nearing his limits, the enemy pirates are ruthless and desperate. Law's left winded and aching in the aftermath. He's grateful that he managed to defeat the co-captain early on, because he really isn't feeling up to going all out now.

A loud crash catches Law's attention, and he looks up just in time to see Luffy skidding on the planks, panting heavily. "I've had enough of you, jerk! Let's end this now!" Luffy shouts, and he throws his hands back. They inflate and are soon coated with black, and Law would call it overkill if it weren't for the fact that the enemy captain is already up and aiming a crossbow at Luffy's head.

Law smirks, looking forward to seeing the other enemy captain sent flying. He isn't given the chance, though — a sword swipes at his head, aiming for his throat, and Law's forced to duck out of the way. Blood coats Kikoku's edge, and Law parries the next blow with a haki-clad arm. He forms a room.

At the end of it, Law's surrounded by dismembered pirates and the planks he stands on are stained red. The enemy captain falls to the sea a few moments after, and Luffy drops down on one knee, wiping blood from the corner of his mouth with the back of his hand.

When he gets up it's with a grin and a victorious shout, and the fight is over.

"About time," Law comments, but the ghost of a smile on his lips steals the bite from his words. "I was thinking you'd take forever playing with your food."

In hindsight, he should really have known better than to say that word. Luffy groans and holds his stomach, which starts growling piteously. "Ugh, why did you remind me, Torao? I'm hungry…"

"I'm sure Black Leg-ya will cook you anything you want after this," Law placates, and Luffy whoops his agreement. "Once they get their asses back to the ship, that is."

"Yeah, we should go get them! I wanna get going already."

"Shouldn't be long now, Luffy-ya," Law remarks absently. He can hear subsiding sounds of a faraway battle coming from the enemy ships; the word about their captain's fall must not have reached them yet, but it will soon. He eyes Luffy discretely. "Are you injured?"

Luffy checks himself from head to toe and grins up at Law. "Nope, I'm okay! Are you okay?"

"I'm fine." Law turns to look at the enemy ships. They're still fighting, but whatever's left is nothing but fodder; something Luffy could take care of with one thought. Not that he would rob his crewmates of a fight.

"That's good to hear! Do you still have two arms?"

Law scowls at the reminder. "Evidently so."

"Good." Luffy grins and steeples his fingers behind the back of his head. "This was fun, but I'm really, _really_ hungry now. Let's go find breakfast!"

Law nods, pinching the bridge of his nose. Before he gets the chance to follow Luffy, a pained moan sounds from somewhere behind them. Law turns his head to see light gleam off the barrel of a gun.

One of the enemy pirates, someone who Law doesn't even remember defeating, is leaning heavily on his elbow, harsh pants whistling through gritted teeth. In his hand is a gun, a small revolver that's completely unimposing. But something is out of place here, Law can feel it.

Law's seen a lot of guns in his lifetime; one might say it's an occupational hazard. He's looked down barrels of guns held by marines, bounty hunters, and other pirates so many times that it doesn't faze him anymore, but this is different.

This one is pointed at Luffy, who's picking his nose idly, completely ignoring the potential threat. Though it's not a threat, is it? Not to a rubber man.

The pirate's voice is dripping with pain and the bitter, resigned anger of a man who knows he's about to die. "You and your generation, the Worst Generation, you — you should have been weeded out long ago! My crew was the strongest..."

Law hears the safety click off, and he watches the man curl his finger firmly around the trigger. Luffy stares at the man blankly, and his stomach's growling is the only noise breaking the silence.

"Hey, can't we go already? I'm hungry!"

Law turns away from the defeated wreck of a pirate. Luffy offers him his hand, and he takes it. "Yeah, let's —"

"Fucking die, worst generation scum!" the pirate growls. A gunshot rings in the air.

Luffy steps forward to meet the bullet with a grin. Both him and Law expect to hear the distinctive rubbery twang of stretching skin, expect to see the bullet be returned to its sender. That doesn't happen. Instead, Law hears a surprised grunt tear its way out of from Luffy's throat. He sees a spray of blood in the corner of his eye.

The kairouseki bullet disappears into the murky waves, having fulfilled its purpose. Law is yet to fully register what that purpose was.

Luffy topples off balance from the force of the impact, and his hold on Law's hand goes lax. He falls over the railing and into the ocean faster than Law can say catastrophe.

The waves swallow Luffy whole with a resounding splash, and Law can only watch. Behind him, the attacking pirate laughs.

"You should have killed me before, Trafalgar," the man says menacingly, relishing the injury he's inflicted on the only person Law's let close to his heart in years. He celebrates shooting another man with a shining smile, another one of Law's saviours.

How dare he.

Law realises belatedly, as his hand is already forming a room and his other hand is holding Kikoku so hard it hurts, that he has never seen Luffy get shot before, not up close and personal like this. Not in a way that would take, anyway.

Kikoku sings as it sinks into the man's midriff and Law yanks it upwards mercilessly. The man chokes on his own blood as his eyes close for the last time. Law flips him off as he turns around.

Somehow, he'd been certain that one of Luffy's nakama would have saved him by now, and that he'd be faced with the sight of Sanji chiding his Captain for falling overboard again. But when he turns, he sees no one. The sea remains undisturbed.

He looks around, but the Sunny and their broken off battleground are both vacant. His crewmen and the Straw Hats are far away already, probably congratulating each other for their triumph, which means…

No one else saw it happen. No one else knows that Luffy's —

Luffy's sinking. And Law can't swim.

Law shouts his disbelief and anger to the wind, but no one hears him. His voice comes out reedy, but can hardly hear it. Law can't even feel his lips moving. He's sure that the others can sense that something is wrong, now, but they're all so _far_ away, and Luffy's _right here._ Underwater.

His legs shake and he feels light-headed as he straggles to the broken bit of railing. When he gets to the edge, Law falters, and he looks down at the deep and murky water, the churning sea. Somewhere down there, Luffy's sinking, drowning, _dying._ Helpless.

Midday waves wash over the ship's hull, and seagulls caw loudly not too far away. The day is beautiful and serene, and it might be the last thing Law sees. He grits his teeth against the strangled cry that wants to claw its way out of his throat.

A year ago, before his alliance with the Straw Hats, Law wouldn't have minded dying. He isn't so sure now.

The mounting panic both clouds his mind and sharpens his focus, and a plan takes form in his mind — brought to stark relief by the fear of loss that exacerbates things to the point where Law can hardly even _breathe._

Air bubbles break the water's surface, and Law doesn't think. Kikoku finds its place in his grip, and Law prays that the ones he's failed before will watch over him now, because he's about to do something _really fucking stupid._

The tips of his shoes edge over the security of the ship's planks, hanging over the ocean. Law takes a deep breath, calming down, and he unsheathes his sword during the exhale.

He thinks he can hear someone yelling in the distance, but there's no time.

Law takes another deep breath, and he holds it. He thinks of Luffy as he cuts off the already broken piece of the Sunny's figurehead and leans forward, over the edge.

He falls into the sea.

* * *

...

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 _ **A/N: Thanks for reading! This is just a quick plot bunny I wrote the other day, it'll have about 3-4 chapters. Please leave me your thoughts in a review, they'd be greatly appreciated.** _


	2. Buried

**A/N: stop telling people i'm dead. warnings are at the end of the story because spoilers, scroll down if you want to see them  
**

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* * *

 **Into the Sea — Chapter 2: Buried**

Though the world above is in turmoil, the sea is still. Slow, steady currents twirl pieces of wood in spirals as bubbles of air dance around them. Above the waves, a group of pirates have slowly begun to reconvene on their ship, one they've successfully defended. They have no idea of who they've lost below.

Underneath the surface, two forms sink deeper and deeper, shrouded in shadows and caressed by seawater. No one has seen them fall, and none but the fish can pay witness to their descent. Which is good, in a way, because the words and whimpers that spill from Law's mouth are nothing he'd call dignified. His breath leaves him with a wheeze, rushing in and out through gritted teeth, and his pupils have nearly overtaken his irises, blown wide with terror and adrenaline. This was a bad, bad, _bad_ idea, but there had been no choice.

His back is plastered against the inside of the broken piece of the Sunny's figurehead, and he holds onto the slick wood as they sink deeper and deeper.

Law thanks the Seas, ironic as it is, for the fact that Luffy's ship must have been coated recently; not even a drop of water gets past the thick wood. The figurehead is hollow, leaving an air bubble that's big enough to fit Law inside it. Law's created a makeshift diving bell, and that means his plan kind-of-sort-of-not-really-but-almost worked. If only it would keep working for long enough for him to find Straw Hat and get them both the hell out of there.

What a fine fucking plan he's devised here — a work of true genius.

Luffy's crew has a small submersible, and the Polar Tang _is_ a submarine; facts Law had very much clung to while he'd been staring to the waves from above, frantically forming and knocking down one hasty plan after another.

Now Law's sinking too, and he can't even see Luffy. Law swallows down the lump of fear and unease. He keeps his focus on the abyss around him, searching for a flash of red, a trail of bubbles, a rapidly sinking shadow in the darkness.

Anything.

The currents in the area are perilous and unpredictable. The Cat Burglar had been very thorough in her explanation as to why no devil fruit user should be reckless and get themselves thrown overboard. Despite the fact that everyone had gathered to listen to her and Bepo explain the situation, the talk had been aimed mostly to her captain, and Nami hadn't bothered to be subtle about it. At the time, Law had thought it was funny.

Now that the currents really could have whisked Luffy away to a faraway place out of Law's reach, that past amusement feels like a slap in Law's face.

Panic builds in him, stealing him of breath and voice as he scours the water with unblinking eyes, every movement jerky and desperate. What if he doesn't make it in time? He'd been fast to act when Luffy had fallen, but the Straw Hat captain still has around a minute's head start — he would sink far faster than the figurehead.

Fact is, Law is sinking far too slowly, like a snail trying to catch up with a cheetah. An impossible race.

A voice in the back of Law's head keeps whispering about how much faster he would get to Luffy if he'd simply embrace the sea and push himself out of the air bubble, but self-preservation and dread keep him glued to the safety of the Sunny's mane.

At least a minute must have passed by now, though in Law's mind, the seconds felt like years. He still can't see anything, and Luffy could be anywhere, whisked away by the fickle currents. He might… He might already be dead, for all Law knows. He might be stuck in the water alone.

He might suffocate to death at the bottom of the sea, and no one would ever find him.

Law shakes his head to dispel such _cheery_ thoughts. He would find Luffy, and then their nakama would find them. He has faith — the Straw Hats are nothing if not persistent miracle workers, and his own crew wouldn't rest until Law was home. The loyalty they place on him, the trust he can place _in them_ is overwhelming.

Law wants to see Bepo again.

He's toeing the fine line of hyperventilation again, and it's getting harder and harder to concentrate.

He knows that they're not that deep — it would probably be almost within swimming distance for a non-fruit user — and there's no real danger as long as he stays inside the piece of figurehead. Still the mere knowledge of what could be is enough to make Law's heart hammer in his chest, makes it feel like the ocean's presence is a literal weight on his skin and bones; an invisible hand squeezing at his ribcage.

He forces himself to take a deep breath. Luffy's resilient; he's tough as nails and Law has survived worse, too.

"Damn it, you're so troublesome, Luffy-ya… Where are you?" He squints his eyes, though maybe it's all in vain. Maybe —

 _There!_

A dot of red catches Law's eye and he nearly gives himself whiplash from how fast he turns his head. Law can barely make out anything else and he doubts his eyes for a moment, but then he sees it again. Luckily, Luffy changes clothes around two times a year, and the ever-present red shirt is easily noticeable.

Luffy lies prone on a slab of rock, eyes closed and mouth agape. His hat and hair float eerily in the water, and a steady line of red blossoms from his side, painting the water with rivulets of crimson. Bubbles trail from his mouth much too slowly and much too sparsely, almost like there isn't any air in his lungs to expel anymore.

Something cold coils around Law's heart at the sight. He can't tell if Luffy's breathing or not.

With a start, Law realises that the current is carrying him away from Luffy. He scrambles to find a way to get the makeshift diving bell over to him, but trying to wedge Kikoku between two boulders does nothing but nearly rob Law of his sword. He could shamble himself to the right spot, but using his powers while he's surrounded by sea water is a fool's errand.

Then again, Law has always been a fool when it comes to Luffy. To hell with it.

Law forms a room just big enough to fit him and his private submarine inside it, and his eyes never leave Luffy, not for a second. Swapping seawater with his and the diving bell's mass is a taxing task, but once it's done there's only half a metre of water separating Law from Luffy.

"Please be okay," he whispers to himself. His hand is clenched around Kikoku's hilt, white-knuckled, and he tugs at the brim of his hat with his other hand. Law closes his eyes tight and his lips pull taut in an anguished grimace. He doesn't let go of the room. "Please, please be okay. Shit, I'll kill you myself if you die on me now, Luffy-ya. After everything..."

The ten seconds it takes for Law to reach Luffy are the longest of his life so far. Daylight still permeates the water to some extent — reflecting off specks of dust that dance with the currents and paint spots of iridescent light on Luffy's skin, highlighting the way his face is slack and lifeless.

The bit of the figurehead lands on the slab of rock with a soft thud, sending puffs of muddy sand afloat. The amount of air still inside the dome is enough to push out nearly all the water, and only a small puddle remains when Law's knees hit the rock. The sunlight filtered by the tides is now blocked by the thick wood of the Sunny's mane, but the glow of the room Law created serves to somewhat light the small space. Not enough, though.

Law blinks, waiting for his eyes to get used to the darkness. He can sense Luffy nearby, can nearly feel the other pirate's skin — too cold, too wet — brushing against his thigh.

"Luffy-ya?" Law hears himself call out, tentative in his voice and his movements.

Luffy doesn't reply. Law didn't really expect him to.

He rubs his eyes, and slowly the shadows start shaping into something more distinct. Law breathes out Luffy's name — he's lying prone next to him, one hand resting on his stomach and the other laid beside him. His eyes are closed and his mouth is still open, just a bit. But that's not what catches Law's attention.

Had Law been anyone else, he might have taken pause at the sight of Luffy's still chest and pale skin. But he's a surgeon, and he doesn't hesitate. Without much conscious thought — his brain is yet to catch up to him — he jumps to action, trained hands relying solely on muscle memory. He tilts Luffy's head back, one hand's forefinger and middle finger reaching automatically to Luffy's neck, to his carotid. There's a pulse — of course there is, what is he thinking? Luffy's strong. It's faint and thready but there nonetheless, and all Law needs to do is clear his airway and he'll be…

Luffy will be fine.

He clings onto that thought as he seals his mouth over Luffy's and blows air into his lungs. When nothing happens, he repeats the motion, tears of desperate hope burning behind closed eyes.

Please wake up.

Another breath. Law checks Luffy's pulse again. Why isn't he breathing, he's so damn stubborn…

 _Please._

Suddenly, Law's almost thrown off when the air finally fights its way into Luffy's lungs. Luffy gasps and starts hacking loudly, the sound grating and violent even to Law's seasoned ears.

Law turns Luffy on his side and holds him while Luffy hacks painfully and vomits the water from his stomach. All Law can do is stroke his hair and keep him still and be so soul-wrenchingly grateful for every heave and painful cough that leaves Luffy. It's only thanks to years and years of multi-tasking at high-stress situations that keeps Law from letting go of the room he's created to surround him and Luffy. If he lets go now, then… Law's not sure what would happen, not when the currents surrounding them are so powerful.

Luffy coughs water onto the muddy sand beneath them, and he's making these small, weak gurgling noises that make Law's heart feel like a leaden weight in his chest. He waits, murmuring words he doesn't even hear, both chiding and comforting. Law holds Luffy's head as he wretches three more times, expelling the seawater and whatever he'd had for a midnight snack from his system.

Luffy's chest starts heaving more rhythmically after a while, and Law can see his hands clenching tight, reaching for something to hold on to and clutching weakly on his coat. When Luffy's finally done and nothing but trails of seawater cling to the corners of his mouth, his body stills slowly. His eyes, clouded and unfocused, roll back to his head.

They're not out of the woods yet — Luffy's still been shot, and Law hasn't forgotten that — but the worst part is behind them. Law leans back, a whispered curse leaving his lips.

Fuck fuck fuck fuck.

He holds Luffy close, one hand at the back of his head and the other around his waist. Luffy's inhales and exhales are raspy and they don't sound quite clear yet, but his breath is warm against Law's neck; proof that he's alive. Law shakes with overwhelming relief.

He fought so hard to keep his vision clear while he needed it, but now that it's over tears claw their way from Law's eyes. They paint trails down his cheeks and land in Luffy's hair, and he can't stop them.

Had he been a second later, looked the wrong way at the right moment, had he not jumped in after Luffy… Luffy wouldn't be here anymore, and Law would be cradling a corpse. The thought is terrifying. He'd never see Luffy's smile again or hear his laugh, hear him proclaim his insane dream to anyone who'll listen. He would have had to explain to Luffy's crew why they're left captainless. He would have had to sleep alone, without warm, secure arms holding onto him.

All for a stupid bullet that was aimed at Law. Or was the gun aimed at Luffy, after all? The memory is at the same time both hazy and crystal clear.

Law presses the heel of his palm against his eyes and lets his head fall back, hitting the wall behind him.

He's so infinitely happy that he made it, and at the same time he's painfully aware of the ocean that surrounds them, waiting to swallow them up. His imagination paints his thoughts with spectres of suffocation and drowning, and Law knows way too much about human physiology to be in this situation. Does the air feel thinner already, or is that only in Law's mind? How long will he be able to keep the room in place, until his strength inevitably gives out?

He doesn't regret jumping into the sea, but he wants to get out so badly that it's a physical craving clawing at his flesh.

Luffy groans weakly, then, and Law's attention snaps fully back to his boyfriend. After a moment more filled with Luffy's raspy breathing and Law holding him close, Luffy finds the wherewithal to lift his head and look at Law. He blinks sluggishly, like he's not sure what to make of what he sees, and croaks something that sounds kind of like Law's nickname.

His brow is furrowed and lips parted, his face a mask of pain and confusion. He can tell Luffy wants to tell him something but just isn't coherent enough. All that slips from his mouth is a pained, throaty moan.

Law tuts and hugs him closer. He smooths his hand against Luffy's matted hair, and he tells Luffy to lie back, to rest.

Maybe the worry he feels permeates his voice somehow, because Luffy won't listen — he swallows loudly and grimaces at the pain instead. Even breathing must be excruciating right now, but he tries to talk again despite of that.

"T'rao?" he asks, his voice small and wrung. "Where are we?"

"In the bottom of the ocean. I jumped in after you," Law says matter-of-factly. All words of reassurance and placating clichés elude him, suddenly. "What do you remember?"

"The fight… The guy shot at us and… Then I woke up." Luffy's brows knit together in thought. "I was shot?"

"Yes. We should deal with that now."

Luffy makes a questioning noise. "Really? But I'm never shot, I…" He shifts as much as he can in attempt to look down at his body, but even the slight jostling has him grunting and slamming his eyes shut. "Ow, crap, that hurts. I believe you."

Law shakes his head. "You should have taken my word for it, Luffy-ya. Can you sit? I have to take your shirt off and then try to stop the bleeding."

"Sure," Luffy says and pushes himself up. A groan escapes him, a small sound he was clearly trying to suppress. Something sharp pangs in Law's chest.

Law peels Luffy's shirt off him, spreading it on the ground so Luffy can lay on something that isn't wet sand. Luffy's panting lightly as he lies back down, eyes closed and crinkled with exertion. Even with his knees bent, the tips of his toes brush against their makeshift diving bell's walls, and Law has to crouch awkwardly to get close enough to his side and the bleeding hole there.

"This sucks," Luffy complains, and Law can't blame him. Though it's been cleaned with seawater, the injury looks gruesome and it still has sand and soot in it. The entry wound looks good — it's not even bleeding as much as one might expect, but it still needs treatment.

"Yeah, it does. I… This is probably going to hurt, but try to stay calm. Getting your heartrate up will only make you breath faster, and we have a limited amount of air as it is."

Law can see Luffy bracing himself as his face goes blank, the earlier petulance replaced by a look of sharp determination. He looks at Law, and there's not a shred of fear in his eyes. He grins. "'kay. I trust you."

That trust weighs Law's fingers down as he cleans the bullet wound as well as he can with what he has on him. Luffy sets his jaw and grits his teeth, and his fingers dig into the dirt below with white knuckles, but he doesn't complain.

The small safe harbour Law's created for them is too small to wield Kikoku in, so when it comes down to it all he really has at his disposal are his fingers, his devil fruit, and his wit. He's probably doing more harm than good poking at the wound, but he needs to know. He needs to know whether he can start hoping or not.

Hoping for a rescue, hoping for a restart on the day. Dammit, hoping for breakfast, even.

The exit wound is clean, but the skin is jagged and torn in a way that puts Law ill at ease. It's almost as if… as if the bullet hit bone and broke apart when it entered. Of-fucking-course.

Luffy pouts at him, "Are you done yet?"

"Almost." Law uses Luffy's sash to put pressure on the injury. If he'd have a knife on him — anything small and sharp and he could just create a room and cut into Luffy right here. Note to self: start carrying knives. "How do you feel?"

"Like crap. 'M hungry."

"Sounds about right." Law takes a deep breath and leans back. His fingers remain on Luffy's chest, near the injury and near the scar that almost took his life two years ago. Back then Law at least had a knife. What kind of surgeon is he, anyway?

"I still feel weak, Torao," Luffy says, snapping Law out of his thoughts.

"It's probably the seawater on your skin."

"No, this is —" Luffy tries to lift his head to look at Law, but he doesn't have the energy. His head flops back on the mud with a groan. "It's different. This sucks."

"You said that already," Law says. Eventually, he continues, the words made heavy with trepidation, "You probably still have a piece of the bullet lodged in you. Raccoon-ya and I will need to operate on you a bit when we get back up."

"Okay." Luffy pauses for a bit, and then says, "He's a reindeer, ya know."

Law startles, at a loss for words. With the exhale that carries his answer, he lets go of some of the fear that'd made home in his stomach. It's hard not to when Luffy's been shot and still he smiles like this, makes jokes like this — when he acts so normally.

"My apologies," he mutters awkwardly. "Reindeer-ya, it is."

Luffy snickers, his eyes crinkling. "It's okay, I won't tell Chopper. He'd call you a bastard."

Law's answering smile is smaller and more watered down than the grin on Luffy's face. "God forbid."

Luffy giggles again. He pushes himself up a bit, and Law helps him lean his head against Law's thigh. Some colour has returned to his cheeks, and his eyes have that sparkle of stubborn joy that Law fell for way back when. He looks better.

"Where are we, anyway?" Luffy asks eventually. He turns his head lethargically and his eyes widen. "Is this a cave? That's so cool."

"Not exactly." Law sighs. "I cut off a part of your ship's figurehead and created a room around us. The air inside it should be enough to keep us dry for now."

"So it's a mystery cave…" Luffy mutters to himself. His tone is light and jovial, albeit a bit tired. Like he's just making idle conversation. "How long will the air last, Torao?"

"Long enough. Bepo-ya will come for us."

"Okay!" Luffy hesitates. "When is that?"

"Don't worry about it." Though he should, Law doesn't know when rescue will come. _If_ it will come. "I have a plan."

"But your plans never work."

Law aims an annoyed look Luffy's way. "We're still alive, aren't we? My plans fail only when you meddle with them, and I don't think you're in any position to meddle with anything right now. As long as I can keep this room up and we're mindful of our breathing, we'll be fine."

Luffy's laugh tapers off into a cough. Law's about to reach to him in concern but it's over before it even started and then Luffy's leaning his head back again, grinning up at Law like nothing's wrong. Then, there's a sudden loud growling noise that rumbles inside the small space they share, and Luffy frowns.

Law sees the reckless impulse in his eyes before Luffy can act on it, and he grabs a hold of his wrist before Luffy can poke at his injuries by grabbing his stomach.

"Don't move too much," he chastises. "And we don't have any food, either."

"But were in the _ocean_ ," Luffy reasons, though there's not much rhyme or reason to it, "There's _fish_ in the ocean, Torao. We can fish."

There's a pause during which Law tries and fails to contain his incredulity. You'd think he would have gotten used to this by now, but you can't get used to a whirlpool any more than you can get used to the whims of the future king.

After the lull has passed and Luffy's finished complaining about how he needs food yesterday and how he's missing meals every passing second, Law opens his mouth. A weary sigh rides out on his exhale. He's tired, and so is Luffy. His stomach is still growling, incessant — caught off guard by the unexpected and unwanted fasting. But Luffy doesn't voice his complaints anymore, too worn out to do even that much.

He talks, though.

"I've never been in the bottom of the sea before. It sounds really cool! Every time I've seen the sea from below the surface, I've been sinking, so I couldn't focus on how awesome it looks. It looks so nice from the ship," Luffy's voice is full of longing, but Law's not sure if it's aimed for the sea or the Straw Hats' ship. "Can we at least make a window or something, Torao, please? I want to see."

"If we make a hole into this, we'll get flooded and we die," Law comments flatly. "After everything I did to keep you from dying, I'm not inclined to risk your life again, Luffy-ya."

Luffy makes a small noise, understanding. "Oh, I guess that's true. Are you sure that you can't even make a hole with your power? I _really_ want to see."

"That would be a waste, and it wouldn't stop us from getting flooded." Luffy pouts, prompting Law to explain further. He sighs. "We fought for a long while, and I've overexerted my abilities as it is. If I am to keep this room around us until our crews get here, I can't waste my energy."

Luffy whines low in his throat, and disappointment wrings his expression into something petulant, like a child's pout. Perhaps a part of him senses the fatigue rolling off Law in waves, however, because he lets it go, just like he did with the food and fishing. He's too tired to make a fuss out of it.

Luffy sighs, instead. And then he is quiet.

Law isn't used to Luffy being quiet. Luffy's noisy even when he is asleep, all loud snores and sleepy laughter, sometimes even songs flowing out of him without much pause. It's obnoxious, and it has caused Law quite a few nights of sleeplessness back when he was still getting used to sleeping next to someone so ostensible.

But he's used to it now, and the lack of noise is disturbing in a way that gradually grates against Law's nerves — like a tide pool eroding away at a rock. He sees Luffy eye the inner walls of the Sunny's figurehead wearily, almost apprehensively, and Law realises that he needs to fill the silence somehow.

"Bet you didn't think you'd ever see the figurehead from the inside, huh?" he muses, trying to be funny. Funny's never been his strong suit.

Luffy laughs nonetheless, appreciating the effort. "You better hope Franky won't be mad about you cutting up Sunny, Torao."

"I think he will be understanding, seeing as I did it to save his captain. Besides, I'm sure he will be able to fix her up in no time." Law puts his hands behind his neck. He has Kikoku braced awkwardly against his shoulder. It doesn't really fit, but it feels wrong to let it just lie on the wet sand. "Maybe he'll even upgrade it somehow?"

"Oh, he could make it into a chair, so I could sit on it and watch the sea from higher up!" Luffy enthuses, "Or some cool weapon… What do you think?"

"A beam, perhaps?" Law offers, knowing exactly that the word will work like a shot of adrenaline to Luffy.

"Yeah!" Luffy tries to sit up, his fist poised to hit his open palm. He gets halfway through the motion before a brief look of pain flashes on his face, and he settles on nodding determinedly. "I've decided, Torao! I want Franky to build Sunny more beams, one for each spike on Sunny's mane. They should be different colours, too, so it looks cool!"

Relishing in the sense of normalcy — as normal as it can get in their situation — Law allows himself a smile. He closes his eyes, for a moment content in just listening to Luffy talk about the plans he has for the Sunny. He's not sure Luffy's shipwright will agree to any of them, but then again, the Straw Hats have always mirrored their Captain when it comes to recklessness and unpredictability. Law might soon be dating someone whose ship fires lasers in all colours of a rainbow. It's a silly thought.

Eventually, Law relaxes. At some point, his hand has fallen from Luffy's hair to his clavicle, and his thumb ghosts over his lover's neck. Over Luffy's carotid, over his pulse, just to make sure it will stay there. That Luffy will stay there, with Law.

His mind drifts back to the future, what little there's left for the two of them.

Technically, it's not beyond the scope of Law's ability to extract oxygen from the water that surrounds them — he still feels the room in his fingertips, waiting for him to put it to use. The only catch is that separating oxygen atoms from water molecules would require a level of exactitude that'd take up an enormous amount of energy. It's taking all Law has just to keep the room up enough to redirect the currents — he can't spare energy unless he absolutely must.

Based on the estimated height, width and depth of the piece of the figurehead he cut away, it could be concluded that there's around six cubic metres' worth of air at their disposal. That's around six thousand litres. An average, healthy adult consumes around eleven thousand litres of air in a single day.

Their nakama better get to them soon.

His hand clenches around the juncture of Luffy's shoulder and his neck, thumb putting pressure on his jugular in a way that would have been uncomfortable for anyone not made of rubber. Luffy's fallen into a peaceful silence, his eyes slipping shut every two seconds. If he notices the way Law's grip has tightened, he doesn't mention it.

Luffy shouldn't be here. Luffy should be on his ship, happy with his nakama, eating breakfast and laughing and _safe_. Law couldn't protect him, just like he didn't protect — shit, so many people. He's failed so many people. He's useless.

Law buries his head in his free hand. What has he gotten them into? Why didn't he push Luffy out of the way and take the bullet himself? Better yet, why didn't he sense the danger and get them both out of the way? He should have sensed it, shouldn't have let down his guard, shouldn't have —

Suddenly, it's as if the walls of their makeshift shelter start shrinking. It's like he's back in that chest again. They'll die here, he can't breathe, this is not how he wanted to die, there's no room, _he can't breathe_ —

"Torao. What's wrong?"

It's almost as if Luffy's voice is coming from somewhere far away. But Luffy is right there, his head in Law's lap, his pulse thudding a steady beat against his thumb.

— all's he's worked to achieve, all _Luffy's_ ever worked to achieve, all for nothing, all washed away by the stupid sea and Luffy's recklessness… everyone's sacrifices will have been in vain because Luffy got shot, and the bullet was aimed at Law, not Luffy, and he let Luffy take it for him, _stupid, stupid, stupid — he can't breathe, there's no air_ —

It's all so easy in past tense.

Law lets go of Luffy without registering the motion, and his fingers dig into his scalp, in his hairline. Blunt, short fingernails scratch at the skin of his temples until red blossoms on pale skin, and Law keeps scratching, keeps digging his fingers deeper.

If only.

"Torao? Stop! What are you doing? Why —"

A small trail of blood falls from Law's temple to his chin, droplets collecting on his collar. His eyes are clenched shut so hard it hurts, and his face scrunches up, lips pulling taut, teeth baring in an agonised scowl. He let someone down, _again_. He shouldn't have let this happen. He should have protected Luffy.

Like he didn't protect Lami. Or Corazon. Or —

He's a failure.

"Are you hurt, what — What do you need me to do?"

Luffy sounds panicked, scared. Because of him. Without realising, Law's fingers are coated in a thin layer of armament haki, black glistening alongside red. His breathing gets fast and shallow, his thoughts bordering on delirious.

"I can't," Law chokes out, "I don't, I can't, I—"

He lets go of the room, forgets why he ever had to keep it up in the first place. Water hits wood, and the ground shakes beneath them. Blood gathers under Law's fingernails as water gathers under their feet.

 _"Law, STOP!"_

In the back of his mind, Law senses someone moving around him, hears someone say rushed words.

Next thing he knows his hands are tugged carefully away from the sides of his head. Strong but gentle arms wrap around him, pulling him against something firm and warm. He can feel a breath, rushed and wheezing, ghosting against his ear.

"Stop, stop, stop. It's okay."

' _Luffy_ , _'_ Law thinks, his mind a haze. He tries to pry his lids open, wants to see his lover with his own eyes, but suddenly it feels like he's being weighed down by the ocean itself.

"I don't know why you're so upset, but don't be. You're nakama, Law. I'm with you, I've got you. We'll be okay." Luffy keeps talking, his voice low and urgent, far from reassuring. Still, it helps, somehow. "You said it yourself, we need to stay calm or we'll run out of air. Calm down. Your ship is a submarine and we have the Shark Submersible, so we'll be fine. You're okay."

Law nods, shakily, and Luffy says it again and again — whispers it until it feels like hours have passed and Law's breath has slowly started matching the beat of Luffy's heart.

'You're okay', Law repeats in his mind at the same time Luffy says it.

You're okay.

You're okay.

You're okay.

He starts feeling normal again, like he's regaining some kind of a balance again. The diving bell shifts again on the sand, and Law's suddenly reminded of the relinquished room. Creating it again is painful, like he's tearing apart his own skin with the effort.

The diving bell stops swaying with the water once the room envelops them again, and Law's left gasping for air.

Something wet and hot starts burning in his eyes, and Law's too tired to hold the tears at bay. The piece of the figurehead still feels too small, the weight of the sea a constant danger pressing on Law's windpipe, but… He's not alone. He's with Luffy, and a wretched part of Law is happy about that.

The emotions dress themselves into words without warrant, and Law speaks without thinking when he says, "I thought you'd die. I thought you were dead. And now, this whole mess, I —"

Luffy cuts him off. His voice is not meant to sound this small. "So did I. I couldn't sense anyone in my crew, and you can't swim, so… I thought that was it for me."

Law blinks. Luffy doesn't sound mournful or bitter about the close call he had — is still having, in a way — with death, no, not in the least. Luffy sounds worried, sure, but not for himself, never for himself. "Are you sure there's enough air here for the both of us, Torao? For you, too?"

"Of course there is," Law says at first, but he can't lie to Luffy, not now. "I don't know, actually. I think there is, as long as we're careful about how fast we use it." He doesn't say 'I won't let you die' or 'I won't die', nothing like that — an empty promise would only wound Luffy more.

Luffy understands like the idiot he is, and he smiles, trusting Law without question or doubt. After a brief pause, Law adds a promise so heavy it feels like it falls off his tongue on its own volition, "I won't panic again, okay? I'm sorry."

"Don't be." Luffy shifts his head slightly, so that Law can feel his lips moving against the shell of his ear. "But don't… Don't do it again either, not here. You scared me, Torao."

"Sorry," Law mutters again. "I guess it's a bit of a moot point to say now, but I don't really like small and enclosed spaces."

"That so?" Law can feel Luffy's mouth curving to a smile. "Your ship is literally a submarine, though. Doesn't get more enclosed than that."

Law chuckles, though it's more out of fatigue and the fugue state brought on by his spiralling thoughts than any actual amusement. He's tired, beyond tired, and his entire body feels weightless and like it weighs a tonne at the same time.

"You sat up to stop me," he states, drowsy. "You _did_ stop me. Shit, you have sea stone in you, Luffy-ya, you… You're insane."

Luffy snickers. "Yup. You've told me that before."

"Insane..." Law angles them so that his back is against the figurehead wall, Luffy's arms wrapped loosely around his neck, his head propped on Law's shoulder. "Didn't know you had that in you."

"I didn't, either. I guess I just didn't think about it — I had to do something. I'm not that feeling that great now, though. I need a nap." Luffy stays quiet for a moment, long enough that Law starts nodding off. His eyes close, and they stay closed. Law can feel Luffy shivering, and he wraps his arms around him tighter.

"As fucked up as it sounds, I'm glad we're together," Law mumbles.

Luffy snorts out a watered down laugh, something that probably would have been his usual snicker on any other day. His lips are soft and warm against Law's clammy skin. "Me too. Thanks for saving me, Torao."

"Of course I did, idiot. I need to catch up to you."

"Huh?" Luffy voices, intelligently.

"I need to pay you back for saving me so many times — settle the score and all. Can't let you have all the glory."

"Huh. Didn't know you were keeping track." Luffy grins. His eyes keep closing, and Law can see that it's getting harder and harder for him to drag them open each time. He keeps talking regardless, perhaps to keep Law in the present, keep him from falling back into despair.

"You said you have a plan," Luffy asks after a moment more filled with idle prattle, his voice an odd mix of light and serious. "What is it?"

Law doesn't, though, not really — he never truly did. All they can do is wait, which means that they're fucked if they don't get rescued in time.

Law doesn't realise he said that out loud until Luffy starts giggling. He calls Law's plans stupid, and Law can't blame him. They're pretty damn stupid, too — both the plans and the pirates hatching them.

"You can't let me fall asleep, okay?" Law says. "And you can't sleep either. If I fall asleep I'll let go of the room, and we'll drown. Do you understand?"

"If we sleep, we're dead." Luffy nods. "Yup, got it. How do we pass the time, then? This place is boring and I'm really sleepy."

Law looks around in the small space they share, taking in the muddy ground beneath them and the planks of wood that encase them. At that moment, he wishes that he could see the sea, too.

"I don't know. We talk, I guess," he replies. "You never shut up, anyway."

Luffy grins against his ear.

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 **A/N: chapter warnings: graphic depiction of injury, resuscitation, claustrophobic situation, detailed description of a panic attack, all around a bad time**

 **Please leave a comment!**


	3. Balance

_**Into the Sea: Chapter 3 — Balance**_

 _ **A/N: Heyy didn't take me five months this time what up**_

 _ **Warnings: mentions of drowning, shock**_

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When Law was a child, he used to flip through thick opuses with his father while Lami and their mother were hoarding the medical books. He was always more interested in learning how the human body worked in comparison to how a ship works, but his father knew how to make it fun.

One day, his father had told him to wait, only to return with a cup and a bowl of water. He'd said something along the lines of 'I want to show you something cool and weird, Law,' and Law's always been into all things cool and weird. His father had lowered the glass into the water, and Law had watched with rapt attention as some air remained, creating a bubble.

"A diving bell," his father had begun to explain in his usual patient tone, "is an open-bottomed chamber filled with air. The air is sealed inside by water pressure, see, and the diving bell is then lowered into the water by a cable. Someone will feed the divers air through a hose, and they also need to —"

His parents were never good at keeping explanations short and concise.

Truth be told, his father might have said it in different words, and maybe Lami and his mother weren't studying different books. It's possible that they were not in the house at all.

After over a decade of intense denial, the details have become sketchy at best.

Even still, Law clearly remembers a book about nautical miracles and inventions sitting on his father's desk — dusty and forgotten and just begging to be stolen and read in secret long after bedtime.

That's all beside the point, though. The point is… Okay, maybe there never was one in the first place, to any of this.

Who knows. His mind's adrift.

What's important is that he's stuck in the bottom of some forsaken bit of the seas with the only person whose death — save for Bepo's, and Law doesn't think about shitty things like that, denial is key — could still render him to nothing but broken pieces, unmendable. And there's nothing that some crummy book about seafaring can do to change it.

It's ironic that they'd only met up this time because of the dangerous currents that had all but shoved the Thousand Sunny directly into the Polar Tang's path. Now they're trapped thanks to the very same seas, about to be destroyed by the very same currents. Law's really not a fan of that particular plot twist.

After they'd ran out of things to talk about, Luffy had started doodling something that looked like a volcano wearing a tutu on the dry patches of sand, and Law had been left with his thoughts.

He tried keeping track of time, at the beginning — counting seconds and minutes aloud until Luffy told him to shut up because the numbers were dumb and didn't matter. Law had drawn lines in the sand after that, but the short time that they'd spent in the diving bell without Law's ability shielding them had come with a cost.

Water had leaked in.

It gathered on the sand in puddles, some many centimetres deep — deep enough that it soaked through Law's pants. Considering the fact that his ability is the only thing keeping more water from bursting in, it's really not a good idea to stay in the deadly kiddie-pool that is their temporary sanctuary.

Luffy had taken two seconds to think about it and promptly decided that the best course of action would be for Law to sit in his lap.

Of-fucking-course.

Law had protested. Vehemently. Unendingly. Loudly. None of it mattered in the face of Luffy's stubborn idiocy. Now he's sitting on Luffy's thighs, making sure not to put pressure on the gunshot wound in his side. His coat is wrapped around the both of them to keep them warm, but it's not enough to keep Law from shivering.

Luffy makes an annoyed noise — something that sounds like a mangled word — and his arms and legs jerk restlessly. He can't really move that much with Law sitting on his legs, which is probably the only thing that's keeping him from bleeding out right now. The quick patchwork Law had done earlier really isn't Luffy-proof.

It's not comfortable. Luffy still squirms and wiggles so much that it's like trying to sit on a water lapahn's back. Law's not sure if it makes any difference where he sits when Luffy sends water splashing every which way with his constant flailing.

Water hits him in the face as he's about to finish that thought, and Law's just about had it. "Try not to move so much, will you?" he snaps, a bit more irritably than he'd meant to.

"But I'm bored," Luffy whinges. "We've been here forever, and there's nothing to do and it's super boring."

Law flicks an unimpressed look his way. "It hasn't been that long. Besides, I'm bored too but you don't hear me bitching about it."

In a sudden fit of poise and maturity, Luffy sticks his tongue out at Law. "Blah, you never do anything fun anyway if you can help it. I'm good at fun, so listen to me!" He blows out a deep breath, his face scrunched in a pout. "This is so tedious that it makes me want to chew on my own arm. I could be having breakfast right now, Torao. Can't you use shambles or something to take us back to the Sunny?"

They've had this discussion three times by now, so Law doesn't have to think on his answer. He repeats what he's said every other time, too. "I don't know where Sunny-ya is, so we'd probably wind up right back into the sea. It's taking enough energy simply upholding the Room I have built already."

"Oh. Right." Luffy flops melodramatically, whining: "This sucks. Sanji was going to barbeque today, and that means meat on a stick. Torao, I'm missing out on meat on a stick."

"Shish kebabs?" Law ventures. "Is that what you mean?"

"Yes, shish-whatever, that thing!" Luffy agrees right away, nodding eagerly. "They're the best, and we caught a huge Sea King just yesterday before we met up, and even Sanji said that the meat was going to be amazing, so—" he cuts himself off with a frustrated growl.

Law can't see it too well in the dim light, but he thinks he can see a line of drool falling from the corner of his mouth. He can't blame Luffy for his daydreams, however. They haven't eaten since last night, which in Luffy's book must be on par with a 10-year-long hunger strike.

"I'm sure they'll be here soon, so stop complaining. And don't eat the sand, idiot."

"But I'm starving." Luffy sighs, long-suffering, but he lets his hand flop back to the ground where the water washes away the sand on his palm. "It's all crunchy and gross, not tasty at all."

"Which is why people tend not to eat sand. What are you, five?"

From all the petulance in Luffy's tone, he might as well be. "I'm not five, I'm nineteen. You know that."

"Sometimes I doubt it," Law replies dryly. "In fact, I've known five-year-olds that show more intellect and caution than you do."

"Jerk," Luffy mutters under his breath, but the word holds no bite, just fatigue and fondness. "I bet you weren't any better when you were five."

"When I was five, I was learning how to name each bone in the body, not fantasising about dinner. Besides, that was a long time ago. I don't think I recall that well."

Luffy grins mischievously. "What, are you saying you're old?"

"Fuck off. I'm not old. Not that old, at least."

Law's about to add something snarky along the lines of 'and not many pirates get to live long enough to grow old', but he swallows the words down just in time. They don't exactly need the reminder.

Tension builds in his shoulders, and Law frowns, tugging his hat down on his head — a nervous habit. The air has definitely gotten thinner and staler, and it's not getting any better. Law estimates that they still have about two hours' worth of oxygen, but that's it. If rescue doesn't come in a hundred and twenty minutes, they're done for.

There's also the matter of the currents. For the past something-something number of minutes, their try-hard diving bell has been bombarded with increasingly strong currents. Law's kept them at bay with his powers, but his stamina isn't endless.

He tries not to think about that, and he can tell that Luffy's uneasy, too. There's nothing to do but wait and hope Luffy's insane luck works in their favour once again.

Law forces himself to take a deep breath to calm down. It won't do either of them any good if he gets anxious about their situation. The shame for his earlier panic attack still makes his eyes downcast and his mood gloomy.

He's supposed to be the Surgeon of Death, a dangerous supernova, and he let himself fall back on blind panic just because of what? The ocean? He's a pirate, for fuck's sake.

Granted, both he and Luffy are devil fruit users, and the space they're in is far smaller than any room on the Polar Tang. There's also the fact that there are no doors and no way out, and —

Shit, he's getting worked up about nothing again. The worst part about that is that Luffy notices it every time it happens. And like every other time Law's breathing sped up to match the pace of his rapidly spinning thoughts, Luffy simply tightens his hold on Law and starts chattering about something meaningless.

He's not sure how Luffy knows how to calm him down — might be just fool's fortune — but it works. Luffy's nonchalant tone grounds him, giving him strength to push the tension out of his muscles.

Law takes another breath, and he lets himself lean on Luffy so that his back is partly on Luffy's chest and partly on the inside wall of the spike of the Thousand Sunny's mane. The wood is dry and smooth for the most part, and the damp and salty smell in the air reminds him of Polar Tang.

If he closes his eyes, he can almost pretend that he's home.

"I'm bored," Luffy voices tiredly. He's quiet for a while, a determined but unsure sort of hesitance that tells Law that Luffy's just as desperate for a distraction as he is, and just as clueless as to what that distraction should be. As a general rule, it's a bad sign when Straw Hat Luffy runs out of things to talk about.

The imminent crisis is averted with Luffy's eyes lighting up with an idea. "Let's play a game," he declares.

Law stares back, feigning indifference despite his exasperation. "Are you serious?"

"Is there anything else to do here?"

Law can't think of anything to counter that. He sighs and nods, after a moment. "Fine. I suppose that would help keep us awake. It can't be anything physical, mind you."

"Yeah, yeah, I know." Luffy frowns, and his eyes scrunch in thought. Law gets the feeling that Luffy would be scratching his head, if he had the energy. After a long while during which Law's pretty sure Luffy's burst at least a couple of veins from thinking so hard, Luffy lets out a deep, disappointed breath.

"Man, I don't know any games like that. I wish we had cards."

Law's exhale is sharp and quick and the closest thing to a laugh that he can muster right now. "What, you wanted to play Go Fish or something?"

"You told me we can't get any actual fish from the ocean, so why not?" Luffy grins, seemingly pleased that Law's playing along. "Do you know any games, Torao?"

Law squints to see if Luffy's kidding, but there's not a trace of mischief on his face. "You're seriously asking that right now? You do realise the gravity of the situation we're in, right?"

"Well, yeah. It's not good." Luffy puffs his cheeks. "But it's boring here, that's why…"

Law shakes his head. He doesn't know any games. Trafalgar Law doesn't do games. Except… There's this one game, a vestige of a memory that clamours for attention at the back of his head. It's something he hasn't thought about in a very long time.

"There's one game I know. I haven't played it in a long time, though." Law takes a deep breath. "I don't really remember the rules that well either, it's been years since I last played. It's probably not a great idea."

Luffy's smile is familiar in so many ways. "Let's do it!" he decides, and then pauses, cocking his head to the side. "What game is it?"

"You tell me a secret," Law starts, the words rolling off his tongue well-worn and familiar after hundreds of times of repeating them when he was still teaching the game to Lami. He doesn't remember who taught it to him. "It doesn't have to be true, it just has to be convincing. My goal is to figure out whether you're lying or not. If I guess right, I get a point. If I don't, you win. We play until one of us has five points. Get it?"

"Yeah," Luffy agrees, nodding confidently. "Sounds fun."

Law agrees, closing his eyes. If nothing else, this is going to be pretty amusing. It's no secret that Luffy's an awful liar. "You want to start?"

"Sure!" Luffy takes a deep breath. "One time, uhh… One time I was a bird with blue feathers!"

Law can feel another current pushing against the Room, and his voice comes out a bit strained. "That's a lie. Try again."

"Dammit. I actually have red hair, it just looks black in this light?"

"Try again."

"Crap. Hmm… How about this one: one time I fought a guy who had an ice cream devil fruit!"

At that one, Law has to take a minute to mull it over. He's never heard of anyone with a power like that, but then again he'd never thought he'd hear about his boyfriend battling someone with a biscuit devil fruit for eleven hours. He's not sure. The New World is bizarre beyond reason.

"That's a lie," he decides, eventually.

Luffy groans. "You've played this more than I have, it's not fair. Let me try again! I… I like meat!"

"That's an understatement, but true. You do remember that the point of this game is to deceive me, right?"

"Of course I do! This is just hard, you already know what I like!"

"Tell me something else about yourself, then. It's not that hard."

"I was attacked by a Sea King when I was little. Does that work?"

"Really?"

"Yeah!" Luffy bobs his head eagerly, seemingly forgetting the whole lie-to-win aspect of the game once more. "Shanks saved me!"

"You know, I can't really even question that. True."

Luffy groans his frustration, but Law can tell that he's enjoying this. He wanted a distraction, and the simple game is fitting the purpose. "I want to try again!" he declares, and Law indulges him.

Two more tries and two more obvious lies later, Luffy huffs and declares that the game is terrible and so is Law. Law tries, next, and Luffy believes everything he says. After a while, it becomes a game in itself to think of a lie strange enough for Luffy to suspect anything.

"— you can't actually believe that I'm a seal in disguise, Luffy-ya. That's fucking ridiculous."

"But you say it so convincingly, how am I supposed to know?! This game really sucks, Torao."

"I didn't say it was a good game. I said that it's the only one I know." Law smiles, he can't help it. "It's not my fault you can't lie to save a life."

Luffy pouts out of principle. "I don't need to know how to lie, I have Usopp." He sighs. "I wish Usopp was here so he could tell me a story."

Law rolls his eyes, making no attempt to be subtle about it. "I don't think Long Nose-ya would be as excited about that plan as you are. Wouldn't you agree?"

Luffy grins, and Law can feel his laughter rumbling against his back. "Yeah, he'd cry and panic and say that he has a disease. That'd be pretty funny too, though…" There's a small pause before he continues, tone softer, "Do you think they'll be here soon?"

"They better," Law mutters. A part of him is pissed that they haven't come for their captains already, actually, but it makes sense that the vicious currents would make things difficult. He's tried to stretch out his haki to sense them, but it takes too much energy to focus on both his powers and his haki at the same time. His observation haki has never worked at its finest when he's tired.

His eyes flick to Luffy. "Can you sense them?"

"My crew? Uh…" Luffy pauses for a moment, pursing his lips and closing his eyes in concentration. The silence stretches on for a bit too long until he starts humming in thought — a low, drawn out sound.

Law knows his answer when his face splits in a bright grin. "Yeah, I can! Not that well; I had to focus really hard with all this water in between us, but I can sense Sanji. And that means that Sanji will be able to sense me! They'll be here in no time, like you said!"

"That's good."

"I hope they'll bring meat with them when they come… I'd just need a bit of energy to heal from," Luffy gestures crudely at the mess in his side, "Ya know."

Oh, Law knows.

Luffy looks pale, usually tanned brown skin muddled to the point where it looks nigh translucent. There are bags under his eyes and a tired curve on his spine that slumps his shoulders. He isn't looking too great, and there will be no change to the better until Law gets Luffy to the Sunny's infirmary or better yet, the Polar Tang.

He's always going to be at his best in his own wheelhouse, assuming that he'll be among those who live to see the next sunrise. It's not a given. Fatigue and exertion are dragging him down, too.

"Luffy-ya?"

"Mmh, yeah?"

"How are you feeling?" he asks, albeit the answer is not hard to guess.

Luffy shrugs. "Not too great. I'm really tired. And really —"

"Hungry, yes, I know," Law says. Not another talk about food, please. Law's stomach is about to devour itself as it is. He'd even consider bread — he still wouldn't eat it, but he might entertain the idea — at this point. "Are you experiencing discomfort, pain? Any dizzy spells, sudden sensations of cold or overwhelming thirst?"

Luffy's reply is almost immediate. "Well, yeah, it hurts." He says it like it's obvious, and it is, of course it fucking hurts. Gunshot wounds tend to do that. Law, you're an idiot. "But I don't feel like I'm going to be sick or anything, I'm just tired. I'm pretty thirsty, too, but it's not too bad. Why does that matter?"

"They're signs of shock. You probably would have shown some by now if you were going to."

"Ah, okay." Luffy licks his lips as if in thought, and then grins boyishly. "It's pretty funny, isn't it?"

"What is?"

Luffy's grin widens until it takes up his whole face. "Well, we're surrounded by water, and I'm thirsty."

Law doesn't find it too humorous, but he laughs regardless.

Luffy moves on. "Hey, can I ask you something?"

"Would me saying no change anything?"

"Hmm, maybe. Probably not. Why don't you like tight spaces, Torao? You mentioned it earlier."

"I haven't liked them since I was a child," Law says, voice flat. He hopes that will be the end of it, but it never is with Luffy. He pauses, and Luffy waits with patience that doesn't quite suit him.

He's going to want an answer, but Law doesn't exactly want to talk about that particular bucket of bullshit right now. He takes his hat off his head and runs his hand through his hair, buying time with nothing. "I don't want to get into it now, okay? It's a long story, and not all that special. I'll tell you about it if we get out of here, if you're still interested."

"Sure, I'd like that," Luffy says and then after a moment, adds; "It's when, though."

"Huh?" Law voices eloquently.

"It's when we get out of here, not if. Zoro and the others are coming, and they'll be here soon. Sanji could probably even swim this deep."

"No human can swim this deep," Law mutters, a bit uncertainly. He doesn't know what else to say. "How can you be so sure that they'll be here in time? Your crew isn't all-powerful, you know? Nor is mine."

Luffy grins. The look he levels at Law speaks volumes of how silly Luffy thinks Law is being again. "I know they'll be here, because Zoro and the others will stop at nothing to find me. My crew won't let anything get in their way. Yours won't either."

The faith Luffy holds in his crew is nigh tangible in each syllable — he speaks like he's talking about something obvious and unstoppable, like the tides changing or the sun rising. Law's not as optimistic. He tests the tired words on his tongue before he says them. "How can you be so sure?"

"Because we're nakama." Luffy says simply.

"Right, of course. I wasn't doubting their abilities. I was just... wondering. I'm sure they'll find us," Law lies.

It's his maybe most blatant lie yet — previous game included — but Luffy believes him. He looks serious. "Good, because they will be here. It's just a matter of time now."

The stern expression vanishes like it was never there to begin with, and Luffy adorns a pout that's much more at home on his face. "Torao, this is going to be really tedious until then! We already played games and everything..."

"Didn't we agree to talk to pass the time?" Law points out.

Luffy shrugs. "You know, we passed this island a couple of weeks ago that had giant crabs, at least as big as your ship! They tasted so good. Are you and your crew in a rush? We should circle around to get there after this."

And they were back to talking about food again. Law reaches blindly for Kikoku, and the comforting feeling of leather against his fingertips calms him down by a fraction. Luffy's unwavering faith in his nakama was like the breath of fresh air Law so desperately longed for, and bit by bit the budding panic bleeds away from where it had still lurked in his chest.

Law casts his eyes up to the highest point of the spike of the Sunny's mane, and he stares at the wood with empty eyes while Luffy talks about his crew.

They've been a thing for almost six months now, and yet Law knows more about Luffy's crew than he will probably ever know about Luffy. He's learned a lot about his lover too, though — he can recognise the tension that lies buried in every seemingly cheerful word spilling out of Luffy's mouth, and he knows where to look for the fleeting flashes of pain and fatigue.

Luffy's breath hitches, and Law he can feel the raspy coughs that rock Luffy's chest before he hears them. He runs his hand up and down the bumps of Luffy's vertebrae as the younger pirate hacks out something dark and wet.

"Are my lungs leaking?" Luffy croaks in wonder, wiping the blood on his pants. The words come out rough, his throat left raw by the coughing fit.

Law doesn't really know what to say to that, so he says nothing. Even if he wanted to, he isn't afforded the time to say anything.

Without warning, a strong current pushes against the sides of the Sunny's mane, against the Room Law still upholds. The force of it catches Law off guard. This was the strongest one yet.

He grunts with the effort it takes to keep the Room from crumbling down, and he would have fallen off Luffy and into the water had it not been for two gentle arms that wrap around him in the nick of time.

Luffy speaks directly into his ear, a bit too loud for Law's tastes. "Hey, you okay?"

Law rights himself, his hand moving to push Luffy's off him. "I— I'm fine. The currents are getting stronger, I'm having a hard time keeping us upright."

"Oh." Luffy pauses, looking at Law with questions in his eyes, "What will happen if you mess that up?"

"The same thing that happens when a ship capsizes. Except that we're at the bottom of the sea."

Luffy's lower lip is pulled upwards into a thoughtful expression. "That's not good," he finally decides.

"No."

Luffy nods seriously. "I see. What can we do?"

Another, stronger current rocks their haven mercilessly, and more water spills inside as the Sunny's spike threatens to topple over. Law focuses on moulding the pressure inside the Room so that they don't tip, his breath rasping harshly in and out his slack mouth.

When the sea settles, his attention snaps back on Luffy. He has to squint to differentiate between blots of mud and potential blots of blood, but there are no new stains on Luffy's yellow sash. Law refastens it around Luffy's midriff, and he hopes that it will hold.

"Torao?" Luffy questions. He's impatient, eager to do something. "Can I help? I could hold us still with my arms."

Law is too tired not to give in. It probably won't do them much good, but it'll make Luffy feel useful. "You can try. Brace your arms against the sides, there—" Luffy presses his palms flat against the wooden walls. "— Yeah, like that. Now stay still."

Luffy bops his head down a little, a grimace stretching around the corners of his mouth as another current pushes against the weathered wood. Luffy's muscles tense and relax as he tries to hold them steady, and the pressure is enough to keep them from getting more water in.

It occurs to Law that this is probably the worst fucking plan in the entire existence of mankind, but he has no idea what else they could do. Anything short of spontaneously spouting gills doesn't really cut it.

In a way, this might work, he thinks as he watches pearls of sweat gather between Luffy's brows before they roll down the bridge of his nose. If Luffy holds onto the sides of the diving bell, if one can even call it that at this point, Law could focus more on the Room. He'd save energy to extract some air from the water.

They might… They'd probably last a couple more hours. That should be more than enough time for their crews to come looking for them.

They might just make it out of this, yet.

The thought is almost exhilarating. Law closes his eyes and exhales slowly, incipient terror releasing from his body with each gradually calming heartbeat. He's still on edge, teetering dangerously on the precipice, but the looming sense of doom doesn't feel that imminent now that they have a contingency plan. Sort of. Law blinks tiredly, forcing his eyes to open again even as the pull and drain of the Room makes that difficult.

The lazy morning they'd shared on the Sunny feels like it happened eons ago.

"This is kinda fun." Luffy sounds way too chipper even with Law's lifted spirits. "It's like the roller coasters on Sabaody, the ones that jumped up and down! Hey, Torao, we should go to Sabaody."

"I didn't exactly have a good time on my last visit there," Law points out, detachedly making note of the way Luffy stills oddly for a second. "Though I did gain another crewmate on that island. It might be worth it."

Luffy doesn't sound quite as exuberant anymore, for some reason. "Yeah, the roller coaster part would be fun, and seeing Rayleigh again too. I hope he's doing okay…"

"Worry about yourself right now, idiot," Law retorts. He glares at Luffy out of habit, but neither his words nor his look hold any bite.

Once he realises this, Luffy breaks into a grin. "Aw, you shouldn't worry so much either, Torao. Nami says that worrying makes you get old faster."

"Good. I might just have time to die of old age in here, then," Law mutters, too low for Luffy to quite catch it.

Luffy tilts his head, blinking wearily. "What?"

"Nothing. I'm not going to worry." Law manages to hold up that act for all of thirty seconds before giving up when Luffy grimaces in poorly hidden pain, again. "There haven't been any new currents for a while, so you can probably take a break."

The look of pain melts away in a heartbeat, making way for an angry scowl. "I'm fine! You're being kind of annoying."

Law tries to resist the urge to roll his eyes at Luffy's senselessness, and he fails. When he speaks next, incredulity laces his words. "I'm annoying? You're the one who can't stay still for two damn seconds."

Luffy grins. "Guess we're both annoying then!"

"I hate you so much."

"You keep saying that." Luffy snickers.

He grunts in effort, suddenly, and the walls shake violently around them. The world curls and uncurls around them like a storm, and by the end of it Law finds himself hitting the muddy ground with a splash. A brief wave of vertigo and weakness washes over him, and Law brings a hand to his temple to steady himself.

Luffy spares him a concerned glance. "You okay?"

"Uh — yeah." Law fights off the effects of the seawater that now reaches halfway up his thigh, and he focuses back on the Room. "This is going to get difficult."

Another current. They're getting stronger and more unpredictable, and it's too much to be a coincidence. It's almost like it's a —

"Is this a storm?" Luffy asks, his jaw clenched around the words. "Nami… She mentioned a storm."

If Law thinks back, and he too can remember Bepo talking about something they might have to deal with on top of the capricious currents. He can't remember what it was, specifically. The memory of their conversation is hazy and distant.

"Could be. Has to be."

"Yeah, thought so." Though obviously fatigued, Luffy also sounds excited for some bizarre reason. Law can see his teeth gleam in the blue light created by his power, and Luffy's eyes sparkle with the challenge that dances in them. "It's like we're fighting the ocean, Torao. This is kind of awesome."

Law rolls his eyes. "I just want to get out of here. Can you still sense Black Leg-ya?"

Luffy nods, slowly. "Yeah. They're closer, I think. I'm not sure, it's really hard to focus because it hurts."

He says it so nonchalantly that it takes Law a couple of seconds to realise what he heard. When he does, his focus snaps to Luffy's side so fast that it nearly makes his head spin. "Are you bleeding? Do you feel woozy or cold?"

"It's not too bad," Luffy says distantly, his muscles flexing and his fingernails digging into the Sunny's wood as the sea stirs around them once more. "I can handle it."

Law can't afford to do anything else but believe him, because the currents seem to have decided that the pirates have skirted death for long enough. The sea shakes and roars around them, and Law has to focus on keeping the water inside the Room from slamming into their makeshift shelter.

Droplets of sweat form on his temples, and darkness begins to gather on the edges of his vision. He hasn't upheld a room for this long — must be almost two hours, now — in years, if ever, and it's taking its toll. His mind feels numb and overly clear at the same time, filled with a hazy pain that sharpens his senses.

He's so tired… The sea lies in wait for a moment, and Law lets his mind wander during the lull.

His eyebrows lower as he pays closer attention to his Room, feeling for anything out of place. He doesn't want to be caught off guard again — even Adam's wood isn't unbreakable. The water has been pushing against the Sunny's walls with insistence that could nearly rival Luffy's, and that's saying something.

For a second, he's reminded of the first awkward weeks of dating Luffy. He hadn't known they were dating because Luffy didn't feel the need to tell him and Law was too much of a coward to ask. Their first 'date' — and that's using the term very loosely — had been in a marine cell, where Luffy abruptly and possessively announced that they were in a relationship to a group of very flustered marine rookies.

Soon after, Luffy had been cornered by the Heart Pirates without their captain's knowledge so they could give him 'the Talk'. The you-hurt-him-and-we-hurt-you kind of talk. Law hadn't learned about that until days later, when Usopp had let it slip in between tall tales.

Of course, the most memorable event for Law was the moment his relationship with Luffy was reshaped into something more than that of a disposable ally. He had never planned on surviving Dressrosa. He also hadn't planned on holding his barely conscious ally in his arms, watching Doflamingo's legacy crumble to dust all around them.

Law hadn't planned to let it get to this point. This alliance should have ended on Green Bit. Maybe none of this would have befallen Luffy, then.

By the Seas —

he's

so

tired.

The floating bubbles on Sabaody...

"Torao? Don't fall asleep, remember, your powers —" Before Luffy can finish his sentence, a wave hits the Sunny's walls a lot harder than ever before.

Luffy shouts something mangled and probably vulgar, and seconds later an odd warmth spreads against the bare patch of Law's chest that's showing under his jacket. He looks down to see a dark red painting his stomach.

Fuck.

His eyes flick to Luffy. The younger pirate is sweating and panting with exertion just as Law is, and there's a distant, pained look in his eyes that tells Law that Luffy's not going to be conscious for much longer. He's been fighting sleep for way too long as it is.

They're running out of time.

Law twists his fingers to restore the Room, but the wave doesn't relent. His breathing speeds up, and his hands clench and unclench.

They nearly tip over, and Law's equilibrium is knocked askew by it. Luffy pushes against the walls, and though the Sunny is sturdy enough to withstand the New World, it has its limits. The sound of splintering wood breaks the cacophony of grunts and curses.

Law barely blinks and suddenly there's a crack in the wall, right under the fingers of Luffy's left hand. It's almost imperceptibly small, but Law can feel it. He can feel everything that happens inside his Room.

"Torao, it broke, I broke it!" Luffy sounds like he's about to panic. He tries to plug the leak with his hand, but water begins to trickle down the planks, dancing in the curves and dents of the Adam's wood. There's no stopping it. "You told me we can't break it, but it broke! What do we do?"

"Shit… Your crew, how far away are they?" Law asks, panting.

"Not — not far." Luffy replies through gritted teeth. He's abandoned the task of balancing them in favour of trying to keep the sea at bay with his bare hands.

"Be more specific?"

Luffy lets out a frustrated noise at the back of his throat. "I don't know. They're… Searching? I'm not sure. Kind of close, but also not really."

"Shit…" Law mutters, mostly to himself. The sea pummels against the spike of the Sunny's mane, and the pressure builds. Cracks spread from hole under Luffy's hand, creating a spider web pattern on the wood. Panic mounts, electrifying Law's every nerve.

One thing is sure. The wall is going to crack. Water is going flood in. Rescue will not get to them in time.

The thought snaps something inside Law, and what used to be muddled with fear becomes crystal clear. The roar of blood in his ears lessens as if someone's cut the sound with a knife, and everything else fades, too, until only the important remains.

Survival.

Luffy.

Even though Law's been told that his plans are never the best, he closes his eyes and crafts them anyway. His mind paints a picture on the backs of his eyelids, and it's in sharp enough focus that its edges are almost painful to behold.

A plan is formed. It's not the finest and most polished one he's made, but it's a plan.

"Let go off the walls, Luffy-ya. Lay down." His voice remains surprisingly firm and cool, now that Law's shoved his tumultuous emotions to the back of his mind. "I have an idea."

Luffy makes a questioning sound, but he doesn't protest. He slumps to the ground, sighing in relief when he finally lets his arms fall back down with his whole upper body. With the way Luffy's entire body shakes and shivers, Law thinks that his considerable strength would have been spent soon, regardless.

The second Luffy lets go of the crack ocean water begins pouring in with high pressure, almost as if eager to get inside. Law shambles a bit of mud on the hole, sealing it as best he can.

Luffy lets out a shuddering sigh, and Law thinks that it borders on a sob. He can't be sure — water slams into the walls again, and a spray of seawater hits them both. Law groans, battling his curse. It's a hard battle fighting the urge to let go of the Room, but it's a fight Law wins in the end.

"What's the idea? How can I help?" Luffy mumbles. He sounds like he's far past the point of helping anyone.

His back is resting against the unbroken side of the inner wall, his chest heaving up and down with each panting breath. He looks up at Law with half-lidded eyes, and Law gets the sense that he's moments away from unconsciousness.

"You look so pale," he says, the words falling off his tongue without his permission.

Luffy gets a weird look about him that probably would have been a silly grin had he been fully in his senses. Now he just looks slightly drunk. "You look pretty too, Torao."

Law huffs, somewhat fondly. "Thanks. I, uh… I'm not sure if this will work, so I want to tell you something, okay?"

There's a quick, rasping intake of breath. It sounds angry, like a waking beast.

Law continues. "I lov—"

A hand is slapped on Law's mouth with enough force to almost knock out some teeth. Luffy's large eyes are unreadable and dark, burning with intensity.

"You said you weren't going to say it back, and you can't," Luffy growls. He pauses, gasping for air that doesn't quite seem to reach his lungs. "I— you can't say it now, just because... You don't get to do that."

Law can do nothing to counter that. He nods, the gesture small enough that Luffy would have missed it had he still not been covering Law's mouth. Appeased by this, Luffy's hand falls back to his side. He stares at Law expectantly, as if daring him to finish those words.

"Okay," Law says. "Okay, I get it. Not saying it. But you —You know it, right? What I mean?"

Luffy grins, ire fast forgotten. "Yeah, of course. So, what's the plan?"

Law leans down to press a quick kiss on Luffy's forehead. "It's something really fucking dumb, and I'm not sure it'll work. I— I'm sorry, in case it doesn't. Listen, can you tell Bepo that I —"

"What?" A look of raw confusion and fear overtakes Luffy's entire face. Seeing it feels like someone is holding Law's own heart in their hand, and squeezing it with all their might. But his heart is right here, safe inside his ribcage. "There's something you're not telling me. Why wouldn't you be able to tell that to Bepo yourself?"

Luffy's tone is stalwart, demanding, absolute. Law really can't deny him anything when he gets like this. "The water is going to flood in any second now, and all that matters is your — our lives. I'm going to try something."

"What is it?"

"I'm not sure." Law closes his eyes and focuses on the last scraps of his strength. Most of it is sheer desperation at this point, really, but if he keeps ignoring that then maybe it will stop being true. Spoken like a true man of science there, Law.

Well, fuck science.

With the rest of his remaining power, Law gathers hydrogen from the water that surrounds them, and he fills the small makeshift diving bell with it until it's close to bursting. He's going to pack the space so full of gases that the pressure will create a bubble.

Add a bit of manipulation of the coating that covers the wood, and… In theory, it should work.

Law's face scrunches in concentration. The pressure builds, and Law can feel the Room fading despite his best efforts. The Room that still surrounds them burns, like acid licking his skin, but he refuses to let it go. He knows he would never be able to raise it back up again.

Law reaches down to brush his fingers against Luffy's face. Luffy is white as a sheet and there are dark rings under his eyes, but he meets Law's gaze evenly, the strength in his spirit unwavering as ever.

A loud sound puts a halt to the tender moment. A new crack finally breaks down the wall, creating a large hole. The mud Law had used to plug the hole in the wood is washed away in a split second. Water starts pouring in.

The air escapes, as does the pressure. Law's plan seems lost in the flash flood.

The water is close to reaching his waist, now. It's getting to be almost impossible to hold onto his powers as the Ocean's curse starts to take its hold.

This is a last-ditch effort if anything ever has been. The peak of desperate last-minute bullshit.

On a whim, Law takes Luffy's hand in his. His skin feels cold, clammy. Luffy's smile is small and tired, and so full of faith and trust that it makes Law's heart clench.

"Are you ready?" Law asks. Luffy stares at him blearily, and though he doesn't have a clue of what Law's planning to do, he nods his approval.

Okay. To hell with it.

Law draws air from the water one last time, and he concentrates. His head is pounding, and the constant pressure threatening to overpower him doesn't make things any easier. Law perseveres.

With a nudge of his mind, something shifts around them.

Their makeshift shelter explodes in a flurry of water and broken pieces of wood. Water pushes its way into the small space that's kept them alive for the past hours, but none of it touches them. Law doesn't let it.

They emerge from a midst of shrapnel and wet sand, still alive. Thick streams of bubbles twirl in spirals around them, and Luffy watches in wonder as they begin floating. With effort, he lifts his hand to brush his fingers against the coated inside walls of the air bubble they sit in, held together by Law's power and the strong layer coating.

They rise up, carried by the currents that almost took their lives. Law closes his eyes, focusing on only breathing and keeping the Room in place. They'll die if he gives in to weakness and passes out.

The bubble floats up, past the debris that's carried away by the currents, past the darkness. When Law opens his eyes again, he can't even see the orange wood of the Sunny's mane anymore.

Beside him, Luffy twists his head to take it all in. A fish swims past them, and his tired, pained eyes follow it with awe. He needs to get to a doctor.

"How are you… How's this possible? This is so," Luffy stops to catch his breath. Even the one sentence is a chore for him. "This is so cool, T'rao."

Law wants to say something to him, but all his energy is going toward keeping the bubble from bursting — his throat chokes up when he even tries to open his mouth, and all that comes out is a wheezing cough. The ride up is far from steady, and Law has to fight back a violent bout of nausea.

Something drips down his chin. He raises his fingers to his nose, feeling warm wetness. When he takes them back to examine them, he's not surprised to find blood.

The slight tinge of the Room illuminates them, painting Luffy's concerned face in shades of blue.

"Torao? Are you okay?"

No.

Law's not okay. It's becoming more and more difficult to hang on to his powers.

He blinks sluggishly, and when he opens his eyes, he thinks that his Room has faded for a second because he can no longer see the blue glow. It takes him a moment to realise that the Room is still up, he just can't see it anymore. Everything is too blurry.

It's an odd, detached sort of shock.

"— Law? You're being weird. What's going on?"

Law can feel the strain of his ability in every joint and muscle, and it's excruciating. He drags in air through gritted teeth and forces the pain and exhaustion to the back of his mind. He knows they won't stay there forever, though.

"Is this because of your power? You've been doing this for a long time?"

Breathing is a task, now. His head is spinning. Everything hurts.

"Torao? Law?"

It's almost like he's using the rest of his life force just to keep the room up, Law thinks without processing the thought. He can hear Luffy talking mutedly. Luffy sounds panicked, distraught. Law's not sure why he would. Everything is fine.

It takes him a moment to realise that yes, it does feel like he's waning in favour of desperately hanging onto his devil fruit power. For some reason, the thought doesn't bother him.

A small part of him associates the feeling of weightless fatigue with drowning. It feels like months ago when Law followed Luffy to the bottom of the ocean. Blood had painted the waters then, as it does now.

A wave of blinding pain crushes Law. He's pretty sure he cries out. His head hurts so fucking badly.

Hang on to the Room. Hang on. A little more.

The bubble keeps floating up, up, up.

A muddy brightness dances in his fading field of vision, and it takes Law a moment to figure out that it's coming from above surface — sunlight filtering through waves.

The last thing Law sees before his consciousness escapes him with the last of the oxygen still in his lungs is the light behind his closed lids shifting. Movement. A distant part of him hopes that that means Luffy is safe, now.

He smiles. Dying for someone like the future Pirate King is not a fate Law regrets.

All fades to nothing.

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 _ **A/N: Oh okay okay I know that's a bad cliffie but. No one dies in this fic! I stand by it. This chapter was such a pain to write for some reason... I rewrote that ending at least five times with different outcomes. Killed Luffy accidentally once whoops. Also, if you think that there's no real reason for Law to sit in Luffy's lap you're right. I'm just a slut for cuddles.**_

 _ **Lastly, keep in mind that this is from Law's point of view and he isn't exactly level-headed here. He's not the most reliable narrator.**_

 _ **The next one should be easier, so expect that soon... ish? Idk. Huge thank you for the help and confidence boosts to Emy and Rei! You guys are awesome, and I would have scrapped this without you.**_

 _ **Please comment, it makes me write faster! Hasta la later o/**_


	4. Blunt Force Trauma

_**A/N: Luffy's relationship with his crew is something I will never tire of. That and lawlu is what I think about constantly lmao.**_

 _ **Warnings: mentions of needles**_

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Chapter Text

After darkness falls for Law, the bubble bursts.

It all happens so fast — their shelter breaking apart, the bubble forming around them, Law in what must have been excruciating pain. Law's body goes limp, and the next thing Luffy knows is that water is rushing in and Law is wrestled out of his hold by the forces of nature.

He doesn't even have time to draw breath.

The water twists him without mercy. Luffy slaps his hands over his mouth to keep himself for calling out to Law. He can't see much, but he forces his eyes open despite the strong streams and the sting of salt.

His head spins viciously and his side feels like it's on fire. Luffy uses the pain to stay conscious, grits his teeth against it with stubborn resolve. They've made it this far, Luffy won't let them be done in by mere water.

No matter how much he wills otherwise, Law falls further and further from his reach. Bubbles leave his mouth. He looks lifeless; peaceful in a way that's beyond eerie.

A trail of red coming from Law's nose paints the water in crimson tones that mingle with Luffy's own blood. Luffy strains and tries and forces his body to move, but he's already far past his limits. He might as well be a small twig carried by the currents.

Everything is cold. Luffy's mind screams.

The water twists him again, and the sea swats his hands away from his mouth like all his strength is nothing, like _he's_ nothing. Air is forced out of his lungs, but Luffy pays no mind to the precious bubbles that escape.

Law is _drowning_ , right there, in front of him. The helplessness is like a monster eating Luffy alive. He forces his eyes to stay open, and watches as Law's taken away from him.

He's so close, but he won't be for long.

Luffy wants to hold his hand.

Darkness dances on the edges of his vision, and it threatens to drown him. His vision fractures and moulds anew, and Luffy fights unconsciousness as hard as he would fight a Yonko. He can't lose sight of Law, so weak, so strong, so _important_ —

(Law's sinking. And Luffy can't swim.)

— he hasn't felt dread like this in a long time.

Somehow, he manages to raise his arm, or maybe the sea does that for him. He watches his fingers extend and grasp at nothing, carding through water. The pain that movement causes is distant, numb.

He joins Law in nothingness.

Luffy knows that someone has saved them when his back hits the Sunny's lawn, but he doesn't really register who saves them or how it happens. He coughs and coughs and everything hurts so bad that he wants to cry out when someone picks him up. He's not sure he doesn't.

The rest is a haze of worried faces and rushed orders and Torao, Law, is he okay, _Law_? Luffy thinks he can see the bear in the corner of his tunnel vision, but the white and orange blur is gone before he can process it.

He blinks, and he's in the infirmary. He can feel waves rocking the ship roughly and hear the wind howling as rain drops hit the deck outside. The storm must have finally hit them full force.

Chopper wants him to sleep, tells him he has to. The words lose shape before they reach Luffy's ears.

His body and mind feel like they're cracking, fracturing, like he might die.

Law. Where is he?

He hears himself shouting, and then there's the prick of a needle against his skin before darkness finds him again.

When Luffy wakes, it hasn't been long. He knows this because his entire body complains and protests at the abuse his returning awareness brings with it; begs him to sleep more, just a couple more days. But he refuses his body's pleas — the last thing he remembers with any semblance of clarity is Law, bleeding from his nose and looking like his heart is seconds away from giving out.

He remembers feeling helpless, shaking Law's shoulders desperately. He remembers Law floating away, but he has no idea what happened after that. Was he saved too? Did his nakama find him in time?

Law, is Law okay, is he — Luffy doesn't dare to finish that thought. He pushes his fatigue to the back of his mind and locks it away, throws away the key.

"Torao?" Luffy croaks then, voice wrung and hoarse.

He can hear someone shift beside him abruptly, as if snapping awake from deep sleep. "Lu — Luffy? You're awake!"

The mattress underneath him shifts jerkily, and Luffy doesn't even have time to open his eyes before he's pulled into an embrace that's at the same time tight and urgent and _so very tender_. "It's only been a couple of hours! I thought you'd sleep for days, like usual."

Luffy recognises the voice as Nami's now, and he drags his eyes open. Nami looks almost as worn-out as he feels — with red rimmed eyes and messy hair and an air of tired anger and gloom that tells him that she'd smack Luffy all the way back to East Blue if he wasn't already injured.

Nami looks sad, too. Usually his crew looks relieved and happy when he wakes up after a big fight.

"I don't know what you did, but I'm sure this mess is all your fault. We've been stuck in this storm for _hours_ now because we couldn't get away before Sanji-kun and the others found you."

The fact that his crew has been worried and in danger is all he gathers from that. "Sorry," Luffy manages to say. "I'm okay now."

Nami gives a brief smile, and then she's back to chastising the ever-loving fuck out of her Captain. "You're so paying for the Sunny's repairs. The place you ended up in makes no sense, the currents should have taken you in the opposite direction! Seriously Luffy, I'd expect Zoro to be the one who finds a way to get lost while drowning."

Luffy raises an eyebrow, somewhat surprised. Nami sighs and runs her fingers through Luffy's hair, and as Luffy can feel tension leak out of her strained shoulders with each word, he starts to understand why this tirade is so important to her.

"—When are you going to learn not to do crazy stunts like this?" Nami says with all the weary affection of a big sister whose little brother is a disaster on legs. "I don't know what would have happened if Torao wasn't there."

Luffy's answering silence is stilted and raw at the edges, and Nami stills, noticing his growing unease. "Hey, it's okay. I'm just glad you're awake, Luffy. We've been worried."

Luffy nods shakily. "You don't need to worry about me, Nami. And I'm sorry about all the trouble. Hey, where's… Where's Torao? Did you find him?"

Nami hesitates, swallowing back whatever fond reprimands she was about to say next. Luffy can see her scramble for words, and he waits despite his desperate impatience.

"We did. Let's wait for Chopper, okay?" she says after a pause, her tone soft and gentle.

"No. Tell me. What happened to Torao? Is he okay? He, I…" Luffy stops himself, bites the inside of his cheek against the bubbling emotions. Nami will just get upset, and that will take them nowhere. He closes his eyes and brings his hand to his temple, fighting to keep his composure.

"When is Chopper getting here?" he settles on asking, eventually. The words come out clipped and tense.

"I forced him to go take a nap half an hour ago. Do you want me to go get him, do you hurt anywhere?"

Luffy shakes his head. The wound hurts, but not like it had in the ocean — the pain is better now, duller somehow, and the drag of sea stone in his system is mostly gone.

"No. It's fine. I want to know about Torao." He exhales and opens his eyes, finally taking a glance at his surroundings. The usually so immaculate infirmary is a mess of gauze and empty bottles.

Nami's biting her lip like she's not sure whether to speak at all. "About that… He's still sleeping. Chopper says that he overexerted himself badly."

Luffy's not surprised — he saw the torture Law put himself through to keep them from drowning first hand, heard his rasping breaths and wiped away the blood that fell down his chin. Though the sea washed Law's blood away from his hands, he can still feel it dripping between his fingers.

He remembers Dressrosa, the blistering heat and the feeling of the Room being built around him, and Law's words, carried by trembling breath;

 _If I use my ability too much, maintaining it comes at the cost of my life force._

It was strange. Luffy had forgotten all about those words as soon as they were safe and out of Dressrosa, but they'd resurfaced to him inside that bubble; ringing in his ears like an accusing mantra.

"Is Law going to die?" he asks, bluntly. He needs to know.

When Nami speaks, the words are sombre and hushed. "I don't know, Luffy. I should go get Chopper."

Nami gets up to leave, but Luffy can't let her. He can't stay either, he needs to be where Law is, needs to see, needs to —

On any other day, not knowing something would be a normal state of being for Luffy, his default. Now it all but kills him.

Spurred on by worry, Luffy jumps up, or tries to. Warm hands bloom off the walls to push against his shoulders, and Luffy grits his teeth as he feels the bed envelop him again. Pain explodes in his side with renewed intensity. A wave of it runs up his spine, making his breath hitch.

Luffy's hand moves to press against the bandaged area, but the action is absent-minded — reflexive more than anything based on conscious thought.

The door has opened, and Robin has stepped inside. She uncrosses her arms, and the ones holding Luffy in place disappear in a flurry of petals. Behind her, Sanji and Usopp follow, and —

"Luffy!" Chopper, sitting on Sanji's shoulder. He hops down, and the soft click of his hooves hitting the floor breaks the silence as he bounds to his patient's bedside. "When did you wake up?"

"Just now," Nami replies before Luffy can.

Luffy nods. He pushes himself up — slower, this time — so that he can lean his back against the bedframe. "I'm okay, Chopper. How's Torao? He fainted when we floated up."

Chopper hesitates, too, and Luffy doesn't like that.

"Luffy — Oh, I'm so sorry. The stress and strain from using his ability were too much for his heart, and it led to his brain shutting down to…" Chopper takes a pause, rubbing his tiny hoof over his nose. "It was to protect itself from further damage. I have no way of knowing how he's actually doing until he wakes up."

" _If_ he wak—" Sanji slaps his hand on Usopp's mouth before he can finish his sentence, but the damage is done. It takes a second for the pieces to fit together, partly because Luffy's never been the puzzle type, and partly because he doesn't want to see the picture that is formed.

"If? _If?_ Why is it an if?" Luffy asks, and then adds, very quietly. "Is Law going to make it, Chopper?"

Chopper doesn't answer, and he's definitely sniffling now. Robin, Usopp, Sanji and Nami are all deathly quiet, as well, and it makes the prospect of losing a nakama feel unbearably real.

The heavy hush lasts for long enough that impatience almost pushes Luffy out of the bed again, because like _hell_ is he going to waste away in some cot while Law's in pain, but he stays put. He can't hurt Chopper, either.

After a while, his patience runs out. Luffy makes a questioning noise, demanding a reply, and Chopper's watery eyes snap to his Captain immediately. He throws himself at Luffy, pressing his furry face against his bandaged chest.

"I'm sorry, Luffy! I don't know if he'll be okay! I'm a doctor and I was supposed to be able to heal everyone but he's not responding to anything and I just don't, Torao is too hurt — I'm _sorry_ , Luffy."

It's on reflex more than conscious thought that Luffy wraps his arms around his littlest nakama and hugs him protectively. There's so much new information and his mind is racing to catch up with it all.

Law's pale and pained face is stuck on the backs of his lids, there for him to see whenever he closes his eyes. Luffy wants to see him more than anything. He knows that he's alive only because of Law and luck, and Luffy's an optimist but he's not an idiot — he knows that Law's capable of dying, too.

But…

"He won't." Luffy doesn't notice that he said that out loud until he hears his voice say the words, and he continues since it needs to be said anyway, so he might as well get it out now, "Law is not going to die because of this."

Luffy stares at his crew in the uncomfortable silence that follows, and he meets their despair and doubtfulness head on. He can see the bags under their eyes and the stress that's woven into the hard edges of their bodies, and Luffy knows that his crew needs him now.

He knows that this is the part where he smiles and starts shouting about something in the too small infirmary — loud enough that the sound makes everyone's ears ring with the echoes of it. So Luffy shoves the overwhelming consternation welling in his chest to the back of his mind, and he grins because that's what he's supposed to do. "Hey, why are you all so gloomy? I'm awake now, and no one died, so smile a little!"

The tension holds for two seconds more before it's dispelled — replaced by relief and nascent hope. His friends look so much more familiar now that they're smiling again, and though the weight of the unknown still drags Luffy's shoulders down, he manages to push that away for the time being.

"You're awake!" Usopp states the obvious, and zero point two seconds later he's thrown himself to hang by Luffy's neck, yelling in his ear, "Not that I was worried or anything, but we couldn't find you for so long! We searched and searched and I had to fight a thousand —"

"Not the time, Usopp," Sanji cuts in.

"Sorry, sorry. I'm so happy you're okay, Luffy!"

Luffy grins, and it reaches his eyes this time. He hugs his friend back, and he puts a bit too much force behind it because his side complains about the strain, but that's okay. "I'm okay, Usopp. I knew you guys would come get me."

Usopp grins back, and they both hear Franky crying outside, his sobbing loud enough to carry over the pouring rain. Luffy thinks he recognises the word 'beautiful'. Usopp pulls away, but he remains seated at the foot of Luffy's bed, his presence a comforting dip in the mattress.

"What happened to you?" Usopp asks, "All I know is we won the fight and then Sanji started screaming —"

"I didn't scream, idiot."

"— about something being wrong, and then you were just _gone!_ We searched all over for you, but you were nowhere on the ships, and then the storm hit and it took us so long until we found you in the sea, unconscious. It was creepy, I thought you were —" Usopp trails off, his eyes darting to anywhere that isn't Luffy's face.

"Dead," Robin finishes for him. "It had been hours, at that point, we were fearing you'd drowned. I'm most curious about how you survived as well, Luffy. What happened?"

Luffy gestures awkwardly to his bandaged side, "This happened. I fell in, and then I guess Law followed me. He did something with his powers to make a Room for us underwater."

If Robin notices how Luffy avoids the whole topic of what happened after that, she doesn't attract attention to it. "I noticed that a piece of the Sunny's figurehead has been cut off cleanly, as though with a sword. He used that, didn't he?"

Luffy nods. Thankfully Usopp is quick to accept those answers as all they'll be getting, and he changes the topic to lighter subjects — like how many pirates he saw Zoro skewer earlier.

Nami gets Luffy's attention by softly calling his name, and the relief Luffy had been basking in from seeing his friends' joy is swept away under a rug of captain's duties.

"The storm should settle in the next day or two at the latest," Nami tells him. "We managed to avoid any irreparable damage, but we should still stop on the next island for Franky and Usopp to patch what we couldn't avoid. It'll give Torao and you some time to heal, too. I think we should lay low."

Luffy nods his approval almost immediately. If Nami thinks that's what's best, it probably is.

"It will be winter on the next island, if you recall," Robin informs. A disembodied arm blooms off the bed frame and begins to gently brush through Luffy's matted hair. "Are you still excited about snow, Luffy?"

Luffy grins, a small thing that drags the corners of his mouth up as if by force, and nods. It's hard to look forward to the islands when Law might not be there to see the snow too.

"Yeah. That's going to be nice." Luffy leans into Robin's touch, and his archaeologist smiles and hums before ruffling his hair one last time. "Get well soon, Luffy," she says before walking toward the door.

Nami bumps her fist gently against Luffy's head as if in a punch before wrapping Luffy in one more hug. "You're going to give me grey hair before I'm thirty," she mutters as stands up again so she can usher Usopp back into storm fighting duties.

"Come on, knuckle head, we have a ship to keep from sinking!"

"Oi, watch the nose, Nami, you don't need to pull —"

The door closes behind them before he can finish that sentence. Detachedly, Luffy thinks that Nami would look cool with grey hair.

Only Sanji and Chopper remain in the infirmary after that. Heavy rain still beats against the wooden planks of the Sunny, and Luffy can see lightning flash above the waves from the infirmary's porthole.

He leans back, thoughts whirling in his mind too fast for him to keep up. His brows softly crinkle with exertion as he tries to catch up with his brain.

Next thing Luffy knows, Chopper is holding two small pills coupled with a glass of water in front of his nose. "Take them," Chopper says, and his voice is almost pleading. "They'll help with the pain. I know it hurts, Luffy."

"I don't want them," Luffy says, stubbornly. He's halfway excepting for Chopper to chastise him or try to reason with him, but his doctor simply puts the pills away.

"Fine, if that's what you want."

Pleased with his small win, Luffy leans back, ignoring the fact that that was just _way_ too easy. "Yeah, it is. They'll make me sleepy, and I don't want to sleep. The pain's not that bad."

Chopper looks displeased with the idea that there's any pain at all, and his face scrunches up adorably. "If the pain gets worse, I need you to tell me. You need —"

Luffy grins at him. "Yeah yeah. Thanks, Chopper, you're the best!"

"That doesn't make me happy, you bastard —"

Sanji scoffs, catching Luffy's attention. "Shitty Captain, always making us worry. I ruined a good pair of shoes fishing you up, you know."

Luffy grins sheepishly. "Sorry, sorry," he says, but his voice is blatantly unapologetic.

"It's alright. I needed a new one anyway," Sanji says. He reaches for the cigarettes in his pocket, putting one between his lips despite Chopper's disapproving looks. He chews on it a bit, but doesn't light it. "How're you feeling? You look a little pale."

Luffy shrugs off his concern. "I'm fine. This is nothing."

Sanji grins. "Yeah, it is. I'd expect nothing less from you, Cap," he says before turning on his heels and disappearing for ten seconds. When he returns, it's with a tray piled high with food. "Do you think you can eat?" he asks, like he always does after a big battle.

Luffy opens his mouth to scream and shout that hell yes, he's missed about ten meals and he's _starving_. But the words don't come out, and that makes no sense.

He wants to eat — he knows that he needs to eat to heal just as much as Sanji needs to see him eat so he can stop worrying. He wants to, but his stomach churns and feels too tight and his insides feel all weirdly wound up. He feels nauseous. He can't eat like this.

So, Luffy shakes his head.

His refusal is met with disappointment but not surprise, and Luffy watches as Sanji takes the tray back to the galley. "I'm sorry, Sanji," he says when his cook returns with a tall glass of water. "I can't eat yet."

Sanji stops to stand by his bedside. "I know, Captain. I get it. But you're going to drink all of this or by the Seas I will shove it down your throat sideways."

Luffy smiles his thanks and takes the glass of water. He downs it in small gulps, and Sanji waits patiently. By the time he's done, Chopper has returned and he wants to change the bandages on Luffy's side, telling him that he needs to make sure that he really got all the sea stone out of his system.

It had been a challenge to do the surgery without Law's power, he explains, and hearing that hurts Luffy more than the tiny hooves poking at his injury ever could. The idea of life without Law is unnerving, even when only in passing.

"What are his chances?" Luffy asks brusquely when Chopper is done and he starts to rummage his desk for bandages.

"Torao's?" Chopper confirms, stalls — it's not like Luffy could mean someone else.

"Yeah. Law's. Is he going to pull through?" Luffy asks. "Don't sugar-coat it, please."

"It's not good," Sanji replies, seeing that Chopper seems on the verge of tears again. He's going to need a moment to kick his doctor side in gear again. "His heart stopped and they had to resuscitate him. He's not responding to any meds they've given him. Keeping that Room up like he did must have taken a lot out of him."

Luffy nods, slowly. "I want to see Torao," he states. "After this is done, I'm going."

"The Hearts haven't been by much," Sanji informs him. "They let Chopper help make sure Torao was stable, but we haven't seen them after that."

"I can still sense him," Luffy says. He hadn't noticed it at first when he'd still been waking up, hurt and confused, but he can hear Law's presence when he focuses now. "His voice is weaker, but it's close. Call the Hearts, let them know I'll be there soon."

Sanji gives a miniscule nod and goes to fulfil his Captain's command. Chopper finishes wrapping up his side, and Luffy waits.

"Listen, Luffy. You can't walk to Torao's ship," Chopper orders sternly when all the supplies are back in neat rows on his shelves. "You'll rip your stitches and I'll have to do surgery again to make sure there's no added internal damage. So you don't get to walk."

Luffy tries to argue, at first — he's a captain, damn it. It would be a blow to his pride to be _carried_ onto his fellow captain's ship.

Chopper does not relent. "If you want to go see Torao, you'll let one of us carry you."

Luffy nods, defeated. Chopper had been so quick to give in to his reluctance to take the painkillers that it had surprised Luffy, but now he realises why that was. His doctor knows him well, and he was simply choosing his battles.

He's feeling petulant enough that his agreement comes with a pout and a whined 'I want Zoro to carry me'. Since Chopper already got to play the judge and the jury with this verdict, Luffy wants someone else to carry out the order.

Chopper leaves and soon, Zoro enters. Luffy's swordsman is drenched in rain, and the look in his eye is the resigned ire of someone who's been battling the forces of nature for the past who-knows-exactly-but-way-too-many hours, but it softens the second he spots Luffy.

Zoro walks over to the bed, water dripping from his hair to the tip of his nose and all the way down to the floor. He regards Luffy with a level gaze, and Luffy feels himself ease into his best friend's comforting presence.

"I need to see him," Luffy says firmly, and Zoro treats it as the order it so clearly is. He wraps Luffy into a raincoat and Luffy gets a piggy back ride across the Sunny's deck. Rain beats down on them from the dark, stormy sky, and the ship rocks violently beneath them. Zoro's step doesn't falter or slow down even once.

Luffy can see his crew scattered across his ship, and it makes him feel warm despite the overwhelming coldness; the winter island's welcome.

When Zoro and Luffy get to the submarine, Jean Bart is there to meet them. He exchanges a nod with Zoro and they follow the giant through the hatch, entering the Polar Tang. It's eerily quiet inside. Luffy knows that Law's crew is usually much louder than this.

Luffy has never been to the Polar Tang's infirmary — or, he knows that he has, but he can't really remember that much of it and he doesn't want to try. The room is bleak, stripped bare save for the medical equipment Luffy couldn't name even if his life depended on it.

Not that he pays much mind to the décor, anyway.

Sachi and Penguin lead them in, and Luffy's eyes go wide and his body goes stiff when he sees Law. He wiggles and squirms to get down so he can rush to him, but Zoro doesn't set him down until they're almost by Law's bedside.

"We'll give you some privacy," Sachi tells him. The way he says it makes him seem indifferent, if not even a bit cold, but eyes are red rimmed and there's a bunch of tissues threatening to fall out of his pocket.

"Thanks," Luffy replies, his throat suddenly feeling a little tight. He takes a couple of wobbly steps to the chair that's placed by the cot, and the lances of pain that shoot up with each step makes him realise that maybe Chopper had been right to insist that he be carried here.

Zoro tells him that he needs to re-join the others in fighting the storm, but that he'll return the moment Luffy sends for him again. The door closes behind him just as Luffy slumps to the chair.

Law is covered with a blanket that has the Heart Pirates' insignia sewn on it. His sword is rested against the wall next to him, and there's a stuffed animal at the foot of his bed that was undoubtedly left there by one of his crew.

His breathing is shallow but even, and he appears undisturbed by the hum and thrum of machines surrounding them. The only signs of exertion are beads of cold sweat on his brow.

His skin is still pale, too, exacerbated by the bright lights and the oxygen mask that seems too big on his face. The blood on his face has been wiped off, and the small cuts his own nails had left on his temples have been wrapped. Law looks like utter shit in Luffy's very professional medical opinion, but he's breathing nevertheless. He's alive.

His crew has taken good care of him.

After a moment more of nothing but Law just kind of existing and Luffy staring at him, Luffy gets the feeling he should probably say something. It feels unusual to be talking to someone who's unconscious, but something being odd and unorthodox has always been more of an incentive than a deterrent to Luffy, anyway.

"What you did in the sea… Torao, that was really fucking stupid," he starts. "If you die, I'm kicking your ass."

Law doesn't reply. Luffy wasn't really expecting him to.

Light plays on Law's hair, and his long eyelashes flutter gently like he was simply dreaming instead of unconscious. Luffy hopes he's having good dreams, but he doubts it. Law rarely does.

"You don't get to look cute right now," Luffy mutters after a while, forlorn. "I'm mad at you. I'm not entirely sure what that stupid thing you did was, really, but I know it was dumb and reckless and that's _my_ thing! You're supposed to be the smart one."

Law doesn't even twitch. He says nothing, and neither does Luffy. The silence between them is stiff and cruel and it feels like it stretches on for an eternity.

There's an urge to shake Law until he simply _has_ to wake up, and it battles against the urge to hug him and the urge to keep yelling at him. This is all very complex and confusing to Luffy, and his shoulders are dragged down by the weight of it. He dangles his arms between his knees, all but prostrate with how much he's bent over, and he huffs.

There's something prickling behind his eyelids, a pressure that builds faster than he can ignore. He wonders if this is what Law saw two years ago; if he looked as close to death then as the man who saved him does now.

"Why won't you say anything!?" Luffy ultimately snaps, and it's so hard not to grab Law by his shoulders and shake him until his eyes snap open. "You're all quiet and you're always all quiet but this different, you —" when Luffy raises his hand so he can cough into it, his fingers are shaking. "You fucking suck, Law."

Law says nothing. Luffy's starting to get sick of him being so damn quiet. He takes his treasured hat off his head and wrings it in his hands, worn straw bending under soft fingertips.

It's hard to fit the image of this Law with the one he has from yesterday morning — the one who'd been there for him when he woke up and massaged his arm when it got all weird and tingly. The one who kissed him good morning and teased him good-heartedly about it after.

The one who'd had happiness hidden in the slight curve of his smile, and when Luffy looked at him, it made him think with certainty that he could achieve his dream if they were all together to do it.

And now as Luffy looks at this new, ghost-like version of Law, all he's reminded of is Zoro; unmoving and so very grievously injured after Thriller Bark. He remembers feeling lost and helpless then too, when Chopper had sat by Zoro's side, sighing mournfully like he was dead already even though he _wasn't._

He wonders if Law would get better if he just fed him _a lot_ of rice balls. Like, at least seventy of them.

With that, Luffy decides that the chair he's on might as well be oceans apart from Law. He climbs into the bed with him, keeping a keen eye on the cannulas and tubes that connect to his lover. He buries his face in the crook of Law's neck, face twisted in a pout.

"You better not die. You're too strong to, you know, because of this, so you need to wake up because I need to kick your ass for being stupid," he mumbles into Law's shoulder.

"Wake up. I can't be Pirate King without you."

Law makes a tired, feverish noise as Luffy settles beside him, and Luffy takes it as a good sign. He's oddly reminded of the voyage to Drum, suddenly; of stretching his face in wild ways in hopes of getting Nami to wake up and smile.

Chopper saved Nami then, and this time he'll save Law.

Luffy truly has the most wonderful nakama.

After what feels like eons packed into an hour or two, Chopper and some of Law's crew enter the infirmary and Luffy's told that he should leave; that they need to change Law's IV bags and make sure he's still recovering, still fighting. Chopper says he wants to try something that could improve Law's chances, and Luffy would sooner die than stand in the way of that. He leaves with Zoro, but not before pressing a kiss to Law's cheek and his straw hat on his head.

Rain is still beating down on the deck when they get back on the Sunny, and it soaks Luffy's hair now that his head is bare. Thunder forks and lightning claps behind their backs and some of the waves are almost as tall as the main mast. A part of Luffy wants to help his crew fight the storm, but the rest of him is weighed down by something he can't name.

He's tired, and he only puts up a token protest when Zoro takes him below deck.

Luffy's surprised when they don't go to the infirmary. He'd been sure they'd head back the way they came and he'd mentally prepared himself for meticulous examinations and endless question from Chopper's part. And yet, Zoro sets him down on his own bed in the men's quarters. He gives Luffy an appraising look, and then his brows lower above his eyes.

"You need to sleep, Luffy." It's a statement — as close to an order as Zoro will ever give his Captain.

Luffy matches his first mate's stare with one of his own. "I know."

Zoro walks over to his locker to get his sword cleaning kit, and then he sits on the floor beside Luffy's hammock. He takes his swords off his waist and lays them on his lap, clearly intent on staying there while Luffy sleeps — guarding his rest.

"I'll wake you up if there's any change," Zoro states, and he doesn't say anything more. He sets to work cleaning Shusui, instead.

Luffy blinks, slowly. When his eyes open Zoro's still there by his side, like he always is and always will be.

Fatigue makes his words slur together when he speaks, the words pushing their way out of his mouth after being unsaid for so long. "He's like that because of me, isn't he? Because I was careless and I got shot."

Zoro doesn't reply, and Luffy takes that as his cue to continue. "I thought it would bounce off, the bullet, but it didn't. And Torao pushed himself so far to keep us from flooding and then I broke the bell. I messed up, Zoro."

Zoro raises an eyebrow, but he sits and waits for Luffy to finish talking. "He hasn't been this hurt since Dressroba, and it was Mingo's fault then, not mine. I just want him to be okay now, I want this to be over." The pressure behind his eyes is back again, and Luffy takes a pause to gather himself before adding, "It's really hard, Zoro."

There's a moment where Zoro sets down his sword in all its newly polished glory, working with painstaking care, and Luffy simply sits and breathes as the tired aches of his body get louder and louder.

"Do you really think Torao is that weak?" Zoro asks then, and the tone of finality in his voice tells Luffy that that's all he is going to say on the matter.

Zoro stares at him, his eye half lidded and lazy but the look in it sharp as the blade he just cleaned. Luffy holds that gaze for a moment, and his stiff frame relaxes bit by bit. Zoro always knows what to say, even when he says very little.

"I know he's not," Luffy admits eventually. He grins, a small but genuine thing. "Thanks, Zoro!"

It'd be easy to miss for anyone else, but Luffy sees the look of proud glee that flashes in Zoro's eye. The calm between them is warm, comfortable and safe.

Luffy allows himself to ease into the hammock, finally, sitting so that he's hugging his knees with his back against the wall. His side hurts a lot at this point, and he's starting to get so tired it's hard to even speak.

Maybe he should ask for those painkillers now? But Chopper is busy taking care of Law, and he doesn't want to disturb that… He'll just wait.

Zoro's presence and the soothing roar of the stormy seas drag his eyelids down, and it gets more and more difficult to get them to open again with each blink. He wants to sleep, and now that the jittery, weird feeling that has had his skin on goose bumps and his heart beating a fast staccato is slowly subsiding, Luffy hopes he might be able to calm down enough to do that.

Whatever residual doubt Luffy still held onto about Law's fate is swept away when the hatch slams open and Usopp's head comes to view, upside down so that his curly hair frames his face as he beams at Luffy and Zoro.

"Luffy!" Usopp yells, his whole face split in a huge, victorious grin. "Chopper told me to come right away. The treatment worked! Torao's not going to die!"

Luffy's breath hitches in his throat and he sits up straight again so fast that he almost hits his head on the bunk above his. Law's going to be okay? Chopper healed him, and now he won't…

"Really?" he asks, so quickly he doesn't even have proper breath to form the word with and in a tone that's so low that Usopp couldn't possibly have heard it. He's sure Zoro did, though, knows he's listening with rapt attention.

"Did you hear me?" Usopp shouts again, his cheeks quickly flushing as blood runs to his head. "Chopper got a reaction from him, and he says that's good. Torao should be awake in a couple days!"

"He heard you. Thanks for telling us, Usopp." Luffy hears Zoro say.

"Yeah, no problem. Luffy, you good?"

Luffy snickers, loud and happy. "Silly Usopp, I'm fine! I knew he wouldn't die!"

Usopp grins back, all teeth and earned pride, and gives them a thumbs up before disappearing back the same way he came. Luffy's left sitting in his hammock, all but hovering with giddy relief. He feels light headed and so happy that he might burst with it, but at the same time the relief has worked like a battering ram, and it's broken through all the walls Luffy had used to lock away his exhaustion and pain and anxiety.

It all washes over him in a tidal wave of _rest-rest-close-your-eyes-you-need-to-sleep_ , and Luffy doesn't have any fight left in him.

"See? He'll be okay. You can take a nap," Zoro says, as if reading his mind. He picks up his sword — Wadou, this time — and begins cleaning that too like nothing happened. Like there's nothing to worry about. "I'll wake you up if he wakes up before you."

Luffy nods. "You won't go anywhere?"

He knows his request is unreasonable and reckless — there's a storm outside and they're in the New World. With Luffy out of commission, his crew needs all hands on deck.

He asks for it anyway.

Zoro raises an eyebrow as amusement flits across his features, and his answer is loyal like the tide is to the shore. "Nope, Captain. I've got nowhere else to be."

"Thanks, Zoro," Luffy says, and he does as his first mate tells him to.

* * *

...

* * *

 _ **A/N:** **Oh man, this chapter was a real blast to write! Next chapter will have Law's pov again, seeing as this was somewhat of an intermission for the time he spends unconscious. Thanks for reading, please leave a comment! And thank you for commenting on the last chapter, they really did inspire me to write this faster! o/**_

 ** _Also, happy birthday to Zoro! °˖✧◝(⁰▿⁰)◜✧˖°_**

 ** _Betaed Emy_**


	5. Part 1: Bruises

Law wakes up five days after Luffy.

It's warmth that rouses him, in the end. The Polar Tang's heaters are working at maximum capacity and his crew has hidden him under what must be every single blanket on both Law and Luffy's ships put together. Law's not much more than a puddle of sweat in the bed when he finally opens his eyes.

For a moment everything is fuzzy and confusing and vaguely uncomfortable, and Law feels like he hasn't slept at all. He knows the smell that surrounds him — knows that he must have been in a battle because this is the smell of healing. Normally he'd simply accept that as fact and go back to sleep, but this time there's something — something that changes things, something _important._

A hazy scene stitches itself together in his mind, but the image takes form much too slowly. Law's face scrunches up, annoyed — the memory is just out of his reach.

Water… Ocean… Bubble…

 _Luffy!_

Law's eyes snap open, exhaustion bleeding out of him in one adrenaline packed heartbeat. He sits up abruptly, tearing the oxygen mask off his face. It's tossed to the ground, clattering loudly against the metal panels.

Law scrounges around the familiar infirmary of his submarine with abandon, squinting against light his eyes haven't seen in so long. It's exactly as he left it, his shelves are still meticulously cleaned and kept despite the obvious medical care Law's been under; there's a cannula in his hand though no IV drips are connected to it, and his head's been wrapped in gauze. Law reaches up to brush his fingers against them, and the corner of his mouth tugs into a small smile. His crew has been taking care of him with the skills he taught them, Law notes with pride. It's not a surprise to him, but pleasing to see nonetheless.

There's a stuffed animal at the foot of his bed, and Law has no idea where it came from.

Law's eyes fall on his IV stand next. There's nothing remarkable about the stand itself, but hanging from one of its hooks is Luffy's straw hat. It's just within reach so Law grabs it and brings it close to his chest, fingers pressing against cold straw.

It's weird seeing the hat in his infirmary again. The last time it had been there its owner had been there too, comatose. This time its presence carries the opposite message; if the hat is here, then Luffy must have been the one to bring it to Law. There's no way his nakama would have given it to Law if Luffy was still bed bound or worse. The thought drags the corners of Law's mouth up, and his fingers dig into the straw, their hold gentle but firm.

His mind rewinds his focus back into the sea, then; back into the dark abyss of overwhelming pressure and excruciating pain. That sure was fucked up. He should probably feel something about all that, it being a traumatic experience and all. It would make sense to have some kind of a strong emotional reaction to a life-or-death situation, but all Law feels is contentedness.

His thoughts are sluggish and clumsy, like wading through a swamp. It's like his brain is only just now rebooting. His entire body aches in an odd, almost hollow way — as if he's been drained and carved until he's naught but an empty husk. Law doesn't care. He's saved Luffy, and he's somehow alive as well. That's a nice bonus.

Law stays there like that for a while, simply staring at Luffy's hat and thinking about the hours spent under the sea — the stress and the fear and the terrible spectre of a tomorrow without Luffy in it blurring together until it feels unreal, like it's just another nightmare he's trying to shake off.

When his crew comes to check on him Law senses them coming. He sets Luffy's hat on the table beside his bed, in the safe zone, and holds out his arms long before Bepo crashes into him. The force of the literal bear hug is only slightly less bruising than it would have been had Law been in full health, and it all but squeezes the air out of Law's lungs.

"H—hi to you too," he chokes out.

"Captain, you're awake! I'm so happy you're okay!" Bepo cries, grinning into Law's shoulder through poorly hidden tears. "I'm sorry it took us so long to find you! We tried our hardest, Boss, but it was a real challenge. You were so far away."

After a moment more of the crushing hug, Law begins to pull away. Bepo lets go of him immediately. "It's good to see you too," he says, the happiness from seeing his nakama again tinging his words and dragging up the corner of his mouth. It's so good to see them again.

"Do you forgive us, Boss?" Bepo looks like he's going to say sorry fifty times in half a second if Law lets him keep going, so he raises one hand to stop him, palm outward.

"It's fine. _I'm fine._ It was a demanding situation for all of us, and I'm sure you did your best."

"We sure did," Shachi agrees. He is quick to follow Bepo's example, and Law squeezes him back just as heartily as he had hugged his first mate. "It's so good to see you, Captain!" Shachi says, and Law can hear tears in his tone. He'd feel bad about worrying his crew if they weren't equally overdramatic every single time. It's not like he actually died or something.

"Good to see you too, Shachi-ya," Law repeats back. When Shachi pulls away, Law halfway expects to be slammed with a third hug in a row, which would be kind of pushing it. But the contact never comes. Penguin stays in the doorway, his arms crossed and his mouth drawn in a tight line.

Law's brows knit together slightly in question, and Penguin stands up a bit straighter as a result. His greeting is clipped and terse, though discernibly relieved. "Captain. You're looking better."

"Penguin-ya," Law acknowledges, "you look like you'd rather strangle me than hug me."

"No, I don't want that — we just got you back. Won't hug you just yet either, though."

Law's schools his expression into something more approachable as understanding dawns on him. "I take it you're angry with me, then, for being in this bed?"

"Kind of. We've been worried about your sorry ass, Cap." Penguin shifts his weight, and the air in the room feels like it's electrified with the glare he sends Law's way. The space between them is tense but vulnerable, like it could shatter from the slightest wrong move.

"I'm okay now, so stop making a scene."

"I'm not!" Penguin shakes his head, huffs. "Look, everyone's been panicking because you decided to try to kill yourself again, and for what? Straw Hat falls into the sea every fucking day, and he always survives! What made this time so damn different?"

"The bullet in his side, presumably," comes Law's dry reply. "He would have bled out very quickly, and both you and the Straw Hats were nowhere to be seen." He can see Penguin's eyes widen and his mouth open and he knows that Penguin took that personally, that he's misunderstood. Law levels a firm look at Penguin to stop him from shouting before he even gets the chance to start. "It wasn't your fault, if that's what you are thinking. The only person responsible is the one who shot Luffy-ya, and that piece of shit is dead now. I made sure of that."

Penguin's shoulders slump and Law can all but see the anger leave his body. He brings a hand to his forehead and drags it down his face. "That's good at least. You know, one of these days you're going to succeed and actually get yourself killed."

"Bummer."

"You're throwing your life away."

"It's mine to throw away then, is it not?" Law says, and the words ring with a note of finality.

Penguin understands the wordless order to drop the subject, and he shakes his head. His eyes flick to Luffy's hat, and he grins suggestively. "I guess I can't argue with that. Makes sense that you had to jump in after lover boy."

Law doesn't dignify him with an answer. He turns to Bepo, asking if they are still on course, and Bepo answers the question with an alacrity that tells Law that he's very grateful for the change of subject as well. He tells Law that the Polar Tang is now underwater due to the thick ice that coats the sea above, but if all goes well they're going to dock at sunset.

The irony of being back in the bottom of the sea after almost dying to escape it is not lost on Law, but he gives his agreement nonetheless. The Straw Hats have cannons and other tools at their disposal to break their way through any obstacles, but the Polar Tang is built for stealth and speed. They're better off subsurface.

"Any news on who lives on the island, then?" Law asks. "Is there a chance they'll be hostile?"

"Nico Robin said something about a trading port, and that she's been there before with someone during the time their crew was separated. She refused to say who that someone was, though." Shachi scratches the back of his head, a distant and dreamy look about him. "Man, that woman is a class act. I'd tap —"

"Alright, then," Law cuts him off. He lets himself lean back against the pillows Bepo has conveniently propped behind his back, and he closes his eyes. "Was anyone injured during the fight?"

"Vicky and Jean Bart took some hits, but the most they've got are bruises. Nothing major, aside from you and Straw Hat," Penguin reports dutifully. "Everyone's eager to see you up on your feet again, Boss. They've been on edge."

Law nods. "I'm awake now, and I feel fine. I was on top of things the entire time." His crew looks doubtful of that, but Law pretends not to notice. He picks up Luffy's hat again and starts tracing his finger along the brim of the hat that gave his boyfriend his epithet, feeling coarse straw bend under his fingertips; sturdy and resilient like its owner. "Luffy-ya's hat is here, so I assume he's the one that left it behind. How is he?"

"Straw Hat was over a couple days ago, but only for a brief moment. He came to see you once." Sachi grins, "It's not like we could stop him from visiting. That brat's already broken our x-ray machine once, and I didn't want a repeat of that."

"Good," Law commends absently. "They're not cheap. Did Reindeer-ya get the sea stone out of his system?"

"For the most part, apparently. Not sure if he got all of it out." Shachi and Penguin share a look. "We kind of shut them out after the little guy said you were stable enough for him to go check on Straw Hat, so I'm not a hundred percent on that, really."

"I'm sorry, Captain. We were focused on you," Bepo says, regretful.

"It's okay. I'll find out myself."

"Yeah, we need to see them anyway," Shachi agrees. "When we get to the island you're letting the Straw Hat's doctor check you over. The furry guy really knows his stuff."

"Yeah! We thought you'd never wake up, but then he came in here with all these bags full of herbs and he made a paste out of them and then told us to rub it on the inside of your mouth. And then you started getting better right away!" Penguin continues.

Mildly disgusted by the idea of someone sticking their fingers in his mouth, Law fights back a shiver. At least he was unconscious when it happened. "I hope you washed your hands first, at least."

"It worked, didn't it? You owe Chopper your thanks, Boss."

"I know. I'm in his debt."

"Although, you did get injured saving their captain, so I suppose that means we're even," Bepo points out. When no one agrees with him right away, he flusters, blurts to say, "Sorry, sorry. I'm just glad you're awake, Captain!"

Law smiles — not widely like Luffy might have, but just enough that his crew notices and is comforted by it. "I'm glad as well. Thank you for saving me."

His crew flushes simultaneously, and they wave their hands in the air and mumble a string of 'of course, Captains', and 'anything for you, Bosses'. Law's smile widens by a fraction, and he lets out a huge breath that carries with it all the worry and panic he'd felt at that first moment after waking up.

His crew is fine, Luffy's fine, and that means his plan worked. Hah! Suck on that, Straw Hat Luffy.

Law can't wait to throw his success in Luffy's face in some snide-but-cool remark that's totally not boasting, not that it matters — Luffy's going to be too happy that Law's awake to even pout about it. Law can't wait to break some ribs from the force of his hug when they're reunited again.

"How deep are we?" Law asks once he's done basking in his great victory.

Bepo's reply takes a couple of seconds of consideration. "Hmm, we're pretty deep, far enough to avoid the currents right under the ice. We should be able to get a signal to the Sunny since they're sailing right in front of us, if that's what you're thinking."

"Good. Do you have a —" Before Law can finish his request, a snail phone is handed to him. It's already taken on the resemblance of the Straw Hat's snail phone. "Thank you."

"No problem, Boss. Do you want us to leave the room so you can call him in peace?"

"I don't mind," Law replies, and he picks up the speaker. The snail perks up immediately, and it starts chanting the dial tone.

 _"Puru puru puru puru... puru puru puru puru... puru puru puru puru... Kac'ha!"_ The snail takes on a stern expression, trying and failing to look authoritative, _"This is Captain Usopp, warrior of the Seas!"_

"Hello, God-ya," Law greets. He's rather proud of how well he manages to keep his disappointment from tainting the words. "It's been a while."

 _"Torao! You're awake, finally! Don't you go calling me god again... I —"_

"Is Luffy-ya available?"

 _"Uh, no. I think he's helping Franky clean the docking system. It has cola in the gears again so we can't use it properly."_ Usopp pauses, sighing. _"I'm really happy you're awake, Torao. Luffy will be, too. He's been pretty tired you know, after everything."_

Law clears his throat, speaking past a lump that has nothing to do with the image of a nigh exsanguinated Luffy flashing in his eyes. "I would imagine, after that kind of physical trauma."

 _"Oh yeah, that too."_ There's a small moment where the snail takes on a hesitant expression, and then it breaks into a wide grin. _"But that's just our Captain for you; unstoppable, always moving forward!"_

Law hums his agreement, and he can see the snail frowning in thought. _"Are— Are you okay now? Chopper fixed you up, right?"_

"So I've heard," Law says. "He did a good job."

 _"He'll be happy to hear that when we meet up again! Hey, do you want me to go get Luffy?"_

Law thinks about this for a moment. His immediate reaction is to agree enthusiastically — or as enthusiastically as Trafalgar Law, the Surgeon of Death can to people who aren't members of his crew — but he now realises that that's probably not the best course of action. If he talks to Luffy now, he'll just start missing Luffy even more, and his small boyfriend will probably come barrelling in through the Polar Tang's walls.

"No, I will wait until we get to the island. I would like to see him in person rather than talk to him on the phone like this. I'm sure you understand."

 _"It's a secret the Great Usopp-sama will be happy to keep!"_ Usopp boasts, but it comes without the usual loud and cocky bravado. This time, it sounds more like a promise.

"Thank you, Usopp-ya," Law says, and the line clicks shut at the same time the snail falls back into its slumber. He sets down the speaker and Shachi takes the snail back to its place while Law settles back into the bed.

"Do you want to go see the others, Boss? How're you feeling?" Bepo asks.

"I'm fine. A bit tired," Law says. He considers sleeping for the remainder of the voyage because he sure as hell is going to need every ounce of energy when they resurface and meet up with the Straw Hats. But he's missed his crew, too. He was worried about them, stuck in the bottom of the sea with no way of knowing if they made it out of the battle unscathed. His crew was probably even more worried about their Captain.

Besides he's awake now and no matter how minor his crew members' injuries are, Law wants to see them with his own eyes. So Law lets Penguin take the cannula out of his arm, and he gets up on wobbly legs. The world spins around him for a moment as he steadies himself, and Law leans against Bepo's arm with gratitude as it's offered to him for support.

His crew cheers and smiles and collects bets when Law steps into the common area, and Law gets too many hugs to keep up with. He grins, can't help it. While the Polar Tang might still be at the bottom of the sea, Law doesn't feel afraid. He's home.

* * *

...

* * *

They dock at dusk, like Bepo had estimated. The island is nothing special after the likes of Punk Hazard and Zou; just a sleepy little village lit up by lanterns and covered in mounds of powdery snow. The log pose sets almost immediately, and it's with a pleased grin that Bepo predicts an oncoming blizzard. According to him there's no way the Polar Tang would be able to set sail again until that clears, which means that they'll be stuck on the island for at least three days. Law's as happy about the prospect of a small chance to relax and recuperate as his first mate is — they all sure as hell could use some peace and quiet.

He's still going to double check Bepo's broadcast with Nami, though; see if Bepo was just jerking his chain.

The Straw Hats' ship is docked on the only harbour in the village. It's a ship fit for the future king, and it looks the part — the Sunny looms over the villagers' small fishing boats, the pirate flag with the skull and the straw hat waving proudly in the wind. Its railings and rigging are coated in snow. Luffy's been here for a while, already.

Law's stomach is almost achingly full of food that was lovingly shoved down his throat by his crew earlier, and the memory of that keeps him warm despite the chill. Luffy's hat is clenched in his hand, his grip tight lest he lose the treasure to the demanding gusts of wind.

Bepo is only a step behind him, hollering out a cautious 'you still doing okay, Boss?' every five minutes. Law had tried to leave on his own but for some reason his crew had been convinced that Law would collapse the second he'd step off the Polar Tang unattended, and Law's crew is nothing if not persistent, and in the end Law had relented. That doesn't mean that he's not irked by their fretting, though. Bepo reaches out to balance Law as his foot skids on ice. On a regular day Law probably would have gotten fed up with his hovering and just teleported himself onto the Sunny once they got close enough, but he can't do that now. His power is exhausted, as is his mind, and Law has a feeling that that's going to take a lot longer than three days to heal. It's hard to walk in the thick snow, but the Sunny gets closer and closer with each step until Law's close enough to sense Luffy's presence. He wonders if Luffy senses his arrival as well.

It's with a weird sense of dissociative nostalgia that Law thinks back to the last time he'd set foot on the lawn of Luffy's ship. He'd been heading to breakfast, then, such a mundane start to something so game-changing. It's long past breakfast time now, and the only things lighting their way are the lantern in Bepo's hand and the low-hanging moon. Law can see Brook's silhouette shovelling snow off the deck, but it's not until he starts climbing up the ladder that he hears him singing. It's a song Law's heard more often off-key from Luffy's mouth, but he's never heard it with the right lyrics and an actual melody. It's beautiful— a soft tune for the waves to carry.

"Evening, Bone-ya," Law calls out. Brook doesn't flinch or even turn around, and Law knows that he's been noticed far before he set as much as a toe on the Sunny's lawn.

"Ah, Law-san. It's good to see you back in good health. We've been looking forward to your arrival. Luffy-san especially, of course."

"Sorry for the wait," Law says, though the words fall flat in the face of the dramatics of the past… five days? Law thinks it was five, or at least Penguin said something along those lines. Maybe it was four.

Brook waves his hand in the air dismissively. "You don't need to apologise; I assure you that we are all most grateful for you. Without you, Luffy-san would have been in real trouble."

Law shifts his weight, stalling for time as he searches for the right words. Even though Bepo is behind him and thus out of view, Law knows that his first mate is grinning proudly. "It's nothing," he settles on saying, ultimately. "We're allies. I can't let Luffy-ya die before we take down Kaido."

The excuse he gives is only a fraction of the truth — there are as many reasons for Law to keep Luffy safe as there are bones in the human body, and taking down the Yonko is only the tip of the iceberg. Based on the look Brook gives him, he knows it too.

Brook doesn't call him out on it, though. "I'm sure that's not the only reason," he says knowingly instead, and his hollow eyes stare into Law's with a sense of solemn sympathy that makes Law fidget uncomfortably. The moment passes fast enough, and Brook breaks into laughter. "Yohoho! I knew you'd sense him soon enough, Luffy-san!"

The skeleton's shout is the only warning Law gets before something rubbery and red careens into him with the might of a sea train. Breath is knocked out of Law's lungs for the second time that day, and he almost topples off balance, forced to take a step back to keep that from happening. Luffy wraps his arms and legs around Law's torso multiple times, and Law is careful when he hugs Luffy back.

"Torao," Luffy says, his head still buried in the front of Law's coat, and his entire frame is tense; wound tight with something Law can't quite put his finger on. His voice is muffled by Law's coat. "Is that really you?"

"Yes, it's me. Sorry I took so long," Law says, wrapping his arms around Luffy a bit tighter. It's freezing outside in true winter island fashion, and yet Luffy's wearing naught but his regular clothes. Law would reprimand him on any other day.

Luffy looks up when he hears Law's voice, and Law thinks he can see something complex and tormented flitting on his features, but by the time Luffy's eyes meet Law's any signs of inner turmoil are long gone — replaced with a look of utter joy. Luffy grins up at him — wiggling like an excited puppy — and then he slams his head back into Law's chest, beyond words.

Or so Law thinks. When Luffy resurfaces, it's with a grin that's impossibly wide for his face, and a barrage of bubbly words that make Law's head spin.

"You're awake, Torao, I'm so happy! You look like shit, still, but Chopper is an amazing doctor so he fixed you up! Do you feel all fixed, now? I didn't —" And so on, and so on. It goes in one ear and out the other for Law, but he couldn't ask for anything better. Law can hear Brook laughing loudly behind him, and a warm sense of belonging bubbles in his chest.

The last time he saw Luffy, Law was dying and Luffy wasn't far behind. He can still remember the blood gushing from the wound in Luffy's side, can still feel its warmth on his skin and hear Luffy's raspy intakes of breath. Now, Luffy's talking his ears off, and he's grinning and happy and _alive_ and —

Law's glad he made it. He's glad they both did.

"My plan worked, didn't it?" he mutters into Luffy's hair. "You have to stop making fun of them now."

"Not going to," Luffy says back, grinning. He looks like he's going to say something more, his lips already moving to form the words, when a high-pitched cry cuts him short.

"Ooo, is that Torao?" Usopp jumps down from the upper deck, landing next to Luffy with a soft thud, snow compressing under his weight. "Good to see you, man!"

"Good to see you as well," Law repeats. Usopp claps him on the back, a bit too hard for Law's weakened health, and Law holds on to Luffy as his knees threaten to buckle. The walk to the Sunny left him tired, his spent body protesting the exertion, and all he wants to do is curl up in a bed with Luffy and sleep.

Luffy snickers happily, and his fingers intertwine with Law's.

One by one the Straw Hats gather on deck — greeting their ally, welcoming him back. Law accepts their well wishes with a small smile on his face and a hand wrapped around Luffy's waist. Robin hugs him, as do Usopp, Nami and Franky. The cyborg's hug comes closest to breaking Law's ribs, second only to Luffy's and Bepo's from earlier.

There's an odd, strained sort of relief tingeing the air, like it would be in the wake of a dreadful battle. In a sense that rings true; it's the aftermath of a battle, but the battle has been ongoing for long after all the bloodshed has already stopped. Now, the leftover fear and anxiety and adrenaline dissipate with each fondly spoken insult, and the air between gets easier to breathe.

Luffy sticks close by to Law, grinning like usual and making fun of every little thing. He laughs uproariously and gives fleeting affectionate touches to his nakama like they'd burn his hand if he didn't. Law can see tension in his shoulders and feel Zoro's eye on the back of his head.

"You owe me twenty thousand beri," Nami demands as soon as the Straw Hats begin to scatter on deck again. Law keeps walking. Nami's having none of it. "To-ra- _o_. Stop and pay up."

Law stops, turns around. "For what?"

Nami raises an incredulous eyebrow, and points a finger to the Sunny's figurehead. There's a tarp covering the place where Law had sliced it, and it flutters in the wind. "What do you think I mean?"

In retrospect, Law should have seen this coming. "I apologize for damaging Sunny-ya. I didn't mean to harm her, but it was necessary."

"Yes, maybe it was. But that doesn't mean it's free." Nami grins, rubbing her thumb, index finger and middle finger together. Law rolls his eyes. "Since you helped Luffy, I'm willing to be generous and lower the price to a measly five thousand."

"I'm sure Bepo can talk to you more about the finances. If you'll —"

"Torao doesn't have to pay, Nami," Luffy cuts in, pushing in between Nami and Law. "Don't make him pay. You already said you'd make me do it."

The way Luffy says it is at the same time commanding and pleading, and there's an edge to his words that makes even the infamous Cat Burglar falter. She opens her mouth and raises a finger as if to protest, but something in her captain's expression is sharp enough to cut the words down before they're voiced. She settles on a frown. "Fine, I'll just take it out of your allowance then; all twenty thousand beris of it!"

"What? You said five!"

Nami sticks out her tongue. "Sorry. Prices change, Captain."

"No fair," Luffy whines, the words accentuated with a pout. Law's taken aback by how normal the exchange is, how nothing seems to have changed. Nami waves at them as they walk away, her grin just this side of teasing. Luffy's hand is in Law's, tugging him along toward the infirmary. Law finds himself memorizing that moment — Luffy grinning, the Straw Hats making jokes, the quiet snowfall. It makes everything that happened feel distant, and Law finds himself smiling, too.

Chopper is already waiting for them in the infirmary, a small arsenal of ointments and tools laid out in front of him. Law knows he's in for a long night at one glance, and he sighs as he steps inside.

"Torao, you're here! Good." Chopper gestures for Law to sit on the bed, and Law does. Luffy sits on the chair next to him, sitting on his hands and rocking back and forth impatiently.

"I hear you're the one who saved me," Law comments. "Thank you."

"It was touch-and-go for a while and I'm still concerned about after effects, but I'm glad to see the herbs worked! It's good to see you up and about, Torao," Chopper claps his hooves together, his eyes closing with the width of his smile.

"That must have taken a lot of skill. Your crew is lucky to have you as their doctor," Law compliments, knowing exactly what those words would do to his younger colleague. Chopper flails and tells Law to shut up, and all the while Luffy snickers next to Law.

"Damn right we are," Luffy says, smiling proudly. "Chopper's the best there is!"

"Shut up! Don't team up on me like that, bastards."

Luffy grins happily, and the atmosphere in the room immediately loses some of its edge. Law feels himself relaxing as he lets Chopper test his reflexes. At his request, the little reindeer describes the means he'd used to bring Law back from the brink of death, and Law listens, enthralled.

Both the explanation and the examination last for quite a while, as promised. Luffy refuses to leave the infirmary even when Law suggests it — he can see Luffy's getting bored, and a bored Luffy in a cramped space has never resulted in anything good. Law got a good reminder of that at the bottom of the sea.

Around the time Chopper's done with a series of breathing tests, Luffy's visibly drooping. He's resting his chin against his palm, staring into nothingness uncomprehendingly. Law observes the dark rings under his eyes, wondering if he's slept much at all the past week. He certainly doesn't look like he has, not with his dirty hair, sallow skin and sunken eyes. Usopp mentioned he was tired, but Law still hadn't expected it to be this bad. In fact, some silly part of him had expected to see him back in full health. Now that he's here it's obvious that Luffy's still healing too, and Law welcomes it when he finally gives in to boredom and lets his head drop on the bed. His snores serve as a poor man's background music for the rest of the examination which lasts for at least another thirty minutes. By the end of it Law's pretty sure he's going to have permanent markings on his arm from the blood pressure meter's cuff.

"Everything appears to be as good as it can be, given the circumstances," Chopper muses. They're looking at the results of each test together, papers spread out on the bed between them. "The slowed reflexes and heightened white cell count are something I expected to see, but your weakened sense of smell is a surprise. It may be permanent."

"I don't care." Law tugs his hat further on his head, eyes flicking to Luffy. It's hard to wrap his mind around the fact that he got away from that underwater shit show with basically no repercussions. Fuck his sense of smell, anyway — the Polar Tang has one washing machine that's shared between the twenty-two of them, and his crew sure as hell smells like it. Law won't miss a thing.

Chopper clearly disagrees. He huffs, displeased with Law's apathy. "You'll need to refrain from using your powers until you're fully healed. I'd say you should wait until your white cell count is back to normal levels, and then give it a couple more weeks just to be on the safe side."

Law hums in agreement. "Trust me, I'm in no hurry to use them anytime soon," he says absently. His mind is stuck on the smiles Luffy gave him earlier, on the way he can almost feel Luffy's breath against his ankle.

"Good." Chopper pauses, considering his words. He pushes his hat back on his head, furry nose crinkling with how hard he's thinking. "Luffy told me what happened, sort of. You probably cut off years of your lifespan with this stunt," he solemnly points out. "You're lucky to even be alive right now."

"I know," Law agrees. "But it was either that or letting us both drown. What else was I supposed to do?"

"I— I don't know. I don't think there was anything else to do, but —"

"Exactly, Tony-ya; there was no other way out of it. Besides, it wasn't that big of a deal," Law continues. "It's not important, simply what had to be done."

Law can pinpoint the second Chopper drops his somewhat detached doctor mode and reverts back to his usual overly excitable self. "You're _so cool_ , Torao! It must have been scary, you almost died and you're moving on so fast!"

Law won't lie; his younger colleague's admiration almost makes him smile in earnest. "Part of being a pirate, Tony-ya."

Chopper squeals something about pirates being awesome, and Law's about to remind him that he's a pirate, too, and thus very awesome in his own right. But then there's movement at the foot of the bed, and Luffy mutters something.

"Good timing, Luffy-ya. We're just about done," Law says, holding a hand out to his lover — a silent invitation for him to scoot up so he can sit next to Law on the bed. To his surprise, Luffy doesn't jump to the chance. Instead, he rubs the sleep from his eyes with the back of his fist, and then glares at Law tiredly from under lowered brows.

"That's not true," Luffy mumbles. "And it wasn't cool, either."

"What?"

"It wasn't?" Chopper chimes in, his eyes blown wide open.

Luffy frowns, visibly confused and upset. There's a moment where Law stays still, frozen by Luffy's sudden animosity, and Luffy stares at everywhere but the general direction of Law's face. The spell is broken by Chopper asking if Luffy's okay, if he's hurt. Luffy's eyes snap to Law, and they promise a storm.

Just like that, Luffy gets up and leaves. Law gapes at his absence.

Just like that, the warmth and joy that enveloped Law turns icy, hostile.

Just like that Law realises that because he's happy with how things ended, it doesn't mean that Luffy is too.

Only one word for that. _Fuck._

* * *

 ** _A/N: Heyyy I'm back! Law really has no idea what he's in for, does he? The boys will get to talk soon, promise, because I will update within a week this time! Cross my heart and whatever._** ** _This chapter was betaed by sootbird! Check her out on tumbr, she rocks!_**


	6. Part 2: Breathe

_**A/N: There's a nsfw version of this chapter on my ao3, if you'd prefer that one over this. There's nothing explicit in this version, as it's not allowed in ff . net's rules.**_

 _ **Warnings: sad times, mentions of past canonical character death**_

* * *

 **Into the Sea — Chapter 5 Part 2: Breathe**

The medical bay's door slams shut behind Luffy, and in his absence the room temperature seems to plummet almost immediately. Chopper stares at Law in bewilderment, his eyes blown comically wide.

"What was that?" he asks, his fur rising up and out with obvious consternation. "Is Luffy okay, does he need medical attention?"

"Not that of the physical sort, I'd imagine," Law mutters, just as blindsided as his younger colleague. Luffy seemed so happy, earlier… Then again, he always does. Maybe Law was a fool to assume that he wouldn't be at all affected by what happened. Shit…

Law keeps his eyes on the floor as he follows Luffy out to the deck. His lover is hunched on the figure head, his knees drawn up to his chest and shoulders all but touching his ears with how high and tightly wound they are. Somehow, in all its impossibility Luffy manages to look both small and intimidating at the same time.

Law approaches him with caution, tension worming its way back into the edges of his body. He's sure Luffy both hears and senses his company, but he gives no reaction. That's okay. Law leans his back against the broken figure head's base, crossing his arms and tilting his head down so that its brim covers his face, and he waits.

The sea rocks the Sunny ever so slightly, docked as she is, and Law can hear the tarp covering the broken piece of the lion's mane flapping quietly in the wind. The Straw Hats walk past them occasionally, throwing curious glances at the allied captains, but none of them stop to say something; they're smart enough to know not to. Luffy's presence is heavy in the air — an almost imposing pressure that makes Law's skin break out in gooseflesh.

Law does nothing to breach the silence that lies heavy between them, and by the time Luffy does snow has formed a light coating on his hat.

"You're alive," Luffy says, tone carefully measured. He keeps his eyes on the dark sea. "You didn't die."

Law nods. "Yes. I'm alive."

"You could've, though. You could've died."

"Yes. I could have."

"Huh." Luffy says something more too, but the words are mumbled so softly that Law doesn't catch them. His bangs stick to his temples, wet from snow. They've gotten a bit long, Law thinks absently.

"You seemed perfectly happy earlier," he says, testing the waters. "What's changed?"

"Nothing's changed." Luffy wipes his hand across his face. His nose is running from the cold. "That's why it's so stupid! I'm just thinking."

Law forces an attempt at a smile on his face. "That's a first. Don't hurt yourself, now."

Luffy looks utterly unimpressed by his attempt to lighten the mood. He meets Law's gaze, finally, and the look in his eyes is like a storm brewing on the seas — unpredictable and deadly. "You were wrong earlier. Being a pirate is about being free, not getting killed."

"I didn't see you coming up with anything better."

"You didn't have to almost get killed doing it, either." Luffy's voice is strained, kept meticulously blank of any emotion.

Amusement is wiped away from Law's features now, too. He crosses his arms. "There was no other choice, Luffy-ya. I understand why you'd be upset, but neither of us died or are permanently injured, so there's no need to dwell on what happened." Law points at the Sunny's bowels with a jerk of his thumb. "Let's get inside. It's cold and you don't even have a coat."

Something shifts in Luffy's expression, then. Law can see him biting down on his anger, keeping himself in place, and for a moment he thinks that they're done wallowing in hypotheticals. But then Luffy jumps down with his knees bent the tiniest bit, his stance lowered as if he's preparing for a fight.

A shiver runs up Law's spine.

"Chopper?" Luffy calls out without looking.

The little doctor perks up, having followed Law on deck. His eyes sparkle with a mix of curiosity and alarm. "What is it, Luffy? Are you okay?"

"You said that Law's all better now, right?"

"Well, yes, but there's still cause for caution; Torao needs to rest and he can't use his ability for a —"

Law doesn't catch the tail end of that sentence. He misses it because he's too busy getting the living daylights punched out of him.

Luffy swings his fist in a lethal arc, nailing him squarely on the jaw, and Law winds up sprawled on his ass. The frozen grass of the Sunny's lawn melts and cracks under his weight, the condensation quickly soaking through his jeans. His jaw is sure to be sore as hell tomorrow. Law blinks, dazed. Luffy's crouching in front of him, staring quietly, intently. If Law didn't know and trust him more than anyone, he would've been scared shitless.

"You're mad at me," Law says, observation of the year.

"Yes. You're a jerk."

"Do you want to talk about it?"

Luffy's eyes are burning holes into Law, and he stays absolutely still as Luffy thinks, evaluates. Around them, the Straw Hats pretend not to stare.

"No," Luffy decides, eventually. His expression is closed off, forced into a neutral mask. "I don't want to talk."

Law hears what Luffy says, and he respects it — or he wants to, but at the same time he can see how Luffy's shoulders are beginning to shake, trembling the tiniest bit. He can see how Luffy's beginning to crumble but is fighting it, and Law knows he is only trying to hide those emotions because his crew is right there. Luffy's a captain, and his crew is watching.

In the end, the decision is easy to make.

"We should talk about it, idiot," Law mutters, and his fingers form the shape of a Room on a whim. He can feel his body and his mind struggling against the tug of the Ope Ope no Mi, but he ignores it. Blue envelops them, Chopper shrieks something in protest, and suddenly they're in the captain's quarters again, sitting on the floor. Back to where it all started.

Luffy looks around, brows furrowing in confusion for a fleeting second before his eyes hone in on Law. It's obvious that he disapproves. "I thought you weren't supposed to use your ability."

"I know." Even if he had somehow forgotten about it, the exhaustion hitting him like an avalanche would have been reminder enough. He rests most of his weight on one arm, breathing fast and shallow like he's just single-handedly fought off an entire battleship instead of performing a simple shambles. "I thought we might need some privacy."

Luffy nods. "It's dumb," he says after a while. "I know it all turned out okay, but I'm still mad. I tried to focus on the fact that you're alive and that you made it and we can go make snow castles on the island now, but I can't… I can't do that. It hurts."

"So you're angry. At who? At me?" Law asks. It's a pointless question, really — Luffy punched him not even five minutes ago, so the answer should be obvious. Regardless, Law needs to hear it from Luffy. He needs to understand, but Luffy simply purses his lips and curls into on himself further. He says nothing, and on top of that he seems unsure, a look Law's not accustomed to seeing on his face.

"It was a demanding situation," Law tries to explain, repeating himself. He can't help but think that this is dumb. Shouldn't they be focusing on celebrating the fact that neither of them had a premature burial at sea instead of lamenting what's already in the past? "Why are we even having this argument? I only did what was necessary for our survival."

Luffy shakes his head almost violently, and Law's follow up argument is cut off by his lover's resurfacing anger. Luffy's upper lip curves into a snarl, drawn back to reveal his teeth, and he groans in frustration. "You keep throwing that word around as if it excuses everything. Necessary, ugh. Stop it."

"But it was necessary, when will you understand that? I was desperate," Law snaps, reasoning the unreasonable. "I thought we'd both die."

"So did I! But I also saw you die, Law! I watched you stop breathing, I saw you, I saw —" Luffy doesn't finish what he was about to say. He growls something, the sound low and rumbling, and he shakes his head almost furiously. His fingers ball into tight fists around his temples.

The realisation is as sudden as it is painful — that Luffy's lived with these thoughts for the past week, the fear of being the sole survivor growing with each passing day. All the while Law was unconscious, none the wiser. The budding anger and indignation he'd been trying to stifle is killed instantly like flame from a candle.

"It's okay," he whispers.

"No, it's not!" Luffy's glare could split the sky. "I don't want to remember. I want to make that damn snow castle, but it's hard to not think about what happened. Why is it so hard?"

"I know it is." Law sighs. "It's true, though. What I did was essential for our survival. There was no other way out."

"Maybe. But what you did mattered, too," Luffy says firmly. "You can't pretend it didn't."

"I didn't mean to," Law assures. "And you're right, it did matter. I'm sorry for downplaying that."

He's halfway expecting for Luffy to jump back to his regular self now that he's apologised, but Luffy's still fiddling with the brim of his shirt with a brusqueness that borders on violent — like it's the shirt he's mad at.

"You don't get it." Luffy shifts his weight, fidgets. His casts his eyes up to Law, and something hard and dark and desperate flits in them. Law frowns, makes a questioning noise, and Luffy sighs.

"I'm strong, okay," he says without a hint of doubt. "I'm strong but I'm not that smart, and when we were down there, I couldn't think of anything to save us. You did, and it almost, almost—" Luffy's lower lip rises in a threatening arc, going over his upper lip as his mouth twists in a grimace. He doesn't finish that sentence, but Law doesn't need to hear the words to understand the underlying despair.

"It almost killed me," he fills in.

Luffy makes a pained noise. His nails dig into his temples, and Law wants to reach out to him, wants to hold and reassure and soothe what hurts. He stays his hand, though; he'd rather not risk getting sucker punched a second time. Law already knows that Luffy has one hell of a right hook — he doesn't need to conduct his own empirical studies.

Luffy bites his lip, nods slowly. "Yeah. In the ocean, you… You were so still. I thought you killed yourself with that, and that's… That's okay — we're pirates, we could die any day. But if you had... you would have died for me."

The admission of fear is quiet, vulnerable, and it hurts oh-so-fucking-much to hear. Law's never been that good at self-preservation, anyway.

He reaches out to Luffy cautiously, almost like one might attempt to approach a livid Sea King. Law's always been far more afraid of Luffy's hush than he's ever been of a monster's roar. He touches Luffy's shoulder hesitantly at first, and Luffy leans into the touch, wiping away something before lunging at Law with the ferocity of a small typhoon. Law pulls him into an embrace, and Luffy's fingers dig into Law's back with enough force to leave bruises.

Fuck, this hurts. Something twists and squeezes in Law's chest, burrowing into his very being. Law feels cold, frozen to his marrow. Luffy's skin is like a furnace against his skin.

It must look silly — two Supernovas huddling on the floor like scared kids, like wounded animals, but Law couldn't give fewer fucks if he tried. He holds Luffy tighter, and Luffy's shoulders shake in earnest now, his breaths coming out raspy and quick against Law's skin.

A splotch of warm wetness gathers on Law's shoulder. He pretends not to notice.

"Hey, hey. I didn't die. I'm okay, you're okay. We're okay," he murmurs into Luffy's ear, words blurring together until it feels like he's saying 'okay' over and over again. He's never been good at this, calming someone with words, healing with speech rather than surgery. Luffy doesn't seem to care. He clings to Law, pressing closer and closer until he's all but pushing under Law's skin — as if he's not made a home there already — and Law pulls him closer still. "It's over now. I'm sorry I scared you."

"I'm really mad at you! No one gets to do that!" Luffy's growl is as dangerous as it is desperate.

"But I didn't die."

"You could've! You would have died because I got shot and fell in," Luffy quietly whines, his voice cracking with raw emotion. He wipes his eyes on his hand roughly, and his next inhale is rasping, hitching on a sob. It's wrong to see him like this. Everything about this is wrong.

Law isn't cruel enough to lie to him. "Yes. I would have."

"Why? Why would you do that, why…" Anger spikes in Luffy's voice again, equal parts bitter and resolute. "You would have died saving me, Law. No one gets to die for me, never again."

Oh. Oh.

Everything clicks into place in Law's mind, then, like mist clearing away from a waking shore. Luffy's reaction makes sense now, in a horribly fucked up sort of way. He feels like an idiot for not making the connection sooner.

Law pulls Luffy back to his chest and Luffy clings to him, his lithe frame shaking with sobs. Law's lungs refuse to work. For a moment it's almost like he's back on Amazon Lily — watching as this small reckless pain-in-his-ass pirate wreaks havoc on paradise, blinded by devastating grief. He looks at Luffy, and instead of seeing the man who would one day reach Raftel, Law sees that broken teenager straight from a warzone.

It's so impossible that one could be both of those things. Law doesn't know what to say in the face of all that so he just holds Luffy, focuses on inhales and exhales.

Luffy's sobs taper into quiet sniffling, and Law finds his tongue. "I was scared too; you were shot, and I didn't have proper equipment with me. When I found you, and you weren't breathing, I — I panicked, and when it was over I didn't want to let that happen again, so I made a rash decision. I thought we didn't have any other options, but maybe if we just waited, maybe —" Law can feel something burning in the corners of his eyes, a pressure building in his nose, and he stops himself short. He refuses to cry now when Luffy so clearly needs him to push them both past this.

Luffy pulls back just enough to look at Law in the eye, and he blinks, swallowing back unshed tears. The light shining from the single lamp in the captain's quarters plays on the wetness that's glistening in his eyes and falling down his nose. "I'm sorry too, then. I thought I would save you, but I only… I only made you hurt more."

"No, no you didn't," Law murmurs. He runs his hand up and down Luffy's back, his shirt still damp from the snow. It's hard to speak past the lump in his throat, "You kept me from getting shot, idiot. If I had been the one who was shot and fell in, then what would have happened?"

"I would've jumped in after you anyway," Luffy says wetly, a hint of his usual cheekiness back in his voice.

"And then what?" Law dryly asks. "You don't have my ability, so even if you had reached me we would have both died."

What little bravado Luffy had been grasping onto falls from his face, and Law would feel bad about it if this wasn't such an important point to drive home. "It was better this way. You did what you do best and I did what I do best, and we got out of that mess alive because of it."

Understanding flickers to life in Luffy's eyes, and he nods, slowly. "You were looking out for me, and I was looking out for you," he repeats simply, and something about that seems to calm him. "Hey, Law?"

"Mmh?"

Luffy gives a weak grin. "Try not to get shot at so damn much. It's nothing but trouble."

Law knows he means it as a joke, but he can't take it as one, not after witnessing Luffy's desperation. He takes a deep breath, pushes his ally — though they're more than that, aren't they, so much more — a bit further away so he can look clearly into the younger pirate's eyes.

"Listen, I promise I'll be more careful, okay? I won't… You shouldn't be so reckless either, you're going to actually get yourself killed jumping in front of bullets like that." Something in Law's own words makes him stop, and he stares at Luffy as gears turn in his head. He hasn't really taken the time to process it until now, but that was what happened, wasn't it? Luffy, he…

Law's eyes widen marginally. "You jumped in front of a bullet for me."

A hint of pride flickers on Luffy's face before it's snuffed out, replaced with careful curiosity. "So? You jumped into the sea for me."

"I can take care of myself," Law says, voice slightly standoffish. "I don't want you to take a bullet for me again, sea stone or not. Idiot."

Luffy looks curious, still, but he lets the subject drop. "Okay. I'll try, but I make no promises."

"That's all I ask. Thank you."

For a moment, Law just sits there with Luffy, holding him close. Luffy's breathing has evened out, and he's so lax against Law that he almost suspects he might fall asleep. Law reaches up with one hand, tangling his fingers in Luffy's matted hair. He rubs his fingers into Luffy's scalp in slow, soothing motions, and Luffy lets out a content noise like a purring kitten might.

"When you were unconscious, I came to see you," Luffy murmurs, eventually. "You looked really bad and it sucked, but I talked to you for a while."

"I don't… I don't remember any of that," Law admits. The idea of Luffy sitting by his bedside while he recovered, of him silent and sombre like he was under the sea makes something cruel and uncomfortable twist in his chest, but he ignores it.

"I know. You were really out of it. But it happened, and it was stupid and I don't want to do that again. Okay?" Luffy's question sounds more like an order.

Law nods shakily, and Luffy's answering grin is small but sincere. "I told you I'd kick your ass when you wake up."

Law can't help but chuckle, his hand rising to his jaw without thinking. "You did."

"I'll do it again, too, so you really gotta be careful." Luffy snickers, and the peels of quiet laughter end with a long sigh. His eyes close, and the corner of his lips tug upward in a tired smile. "This week really fucking sucked."

The abruptness of that statement makes Law snort out a tired laugh. He feels Luffy fidget against him, and it suddenly occurs too Law that they're still on the floor in clothes that are cold and wet from snow and it's all getting to be seriously uncomfortable. He's tempted to summon a Room to transport them on the bed and shamble their clothes away, but that might actually get Luffy to punch him a second time, so he decides against it.

"We should —" he starts, gesturing at his clothes.

Luffy gives a weird half smile, and he cuts Law off just as he's about to finish suggesting that they change out of the wet garb. "Yeah, we should. Hey, Law?"

"Yes?"

"Can I kiss you?"

Law stops, blinking at Luffy in astonishment. He doesn't have to think of his answer. "I… Yes."

He doesn't close his eyes. He probably should have, but the second he gives the go-ahead, Luffy's lips are warm against his, and Law doesn't have the time to react. Luffy's eyes are closed, brows furrowed with concentration. There are trails of half-dried tears still on his cheeks, and Law makes a point of wiping them away with gentle sweeps of his thumb.

"Missed you, Torao," Luffy says as they separate, his lips brushing against Law's as he speaks. Something warm spreads in Law's chest, making the corner of his mouth tug upward slightly.

"So we're back to Torao now, huh?"

"Yup." Luffy snickers at that, his eyes crinkling and closing. He looks so much more like himself now that Law can't help but smile back.

"I missed you too. And I'm here now." Law smiles, content in the moment. "Let's get out of these clothes, okay? It's cold."

Luffy nods, pushing himself on his feet. Once he gets up he holds out a hand for Law, helping him up as well. Luffy's hand is warm in his.

He tugs on Law's coat, pulling it off him carefully just to toss it away without ceremony as soon as it was free. He moves on to Law's shirt next, his calloused fingers brushing against Law's lower stomach as he pushes the shirt off him. Luffy's every movement is slow, calculated and caring, and there's no heat in any of them. He stares at Law reverently, like he's memorizing his face, etching each detail into the backs of his eyelids. The intensity of his stare makes Law feel awkward and flattered at the same time.

There's a hint of disbelief on Luffy's face, like he can't quite believe that Law's actually there with him. He smooths a hand against Law's chest, tickling the tattooed skin with the tips of his fingers. Law quirks an eyebrow in question. "What are you doing?"

"Dunno," Luffy says with a casual shrug. His stare is blank and his voice is nonchalant and cheeky. "Helping you?"

"You're not helping. Get on the bed."

For once in his life, Luffy does as he's told. It's only when he's sitting on the mattress that he suddenly hugs himself and his teeth begin clattering together. "Hey, it's cold here!"

He says it indignantly, like the chilliness of the room has offended him somehow, and Law hides the laughter bubbling in his chest with a scoff. He grabs a blanket from the foot of the bed and throws it directly into Luffy's face. "That's what I've been telling you, stupid."

He joins Luffy on the bed. Luffy takes his shirt off and tosses it to the same undesignated place he threw Law's clothes to as well. With his shirt out of the way, Law can see bandages wrapped around Luffy's torso, and his brows knit together, forming the beginnings of a concerned frown. "I thought you'd be free of those by now. It's been days, and you always heal fast."

Luffy looks down at the bandages. He pokes at them idly, pulling a face at the sting of it. He does it again, though, so it can't have been too painful. "Chopper said there was an infliction. It's okay now though."

"Infection," Law corrects without thinking.

"That's what I said! Anyway, I'm hoping he'll take these off tomorrow."

Law rolls his eyes. A part of him wants to redo the bandages, as immaculate as they are — Chopper's nothing if not thorough. No matter the skill, he feels the need to see the injury that almost took Luffy's life, needs to see it healed.

Luffy doesn't give him the chance. He laughs quietly and then pulls Law closer, wetly meshing their mouths together. His teeth rub gently against Law's lower lip, and Law closes his eyes, his hands slotting in their natural places on Luffy's shoulder and hip.

"You're going to be the death of me, Straw Hat-ya."

Luffy hums, amused by the old nickname. He starts tracing the muscle lining Law's neck with his finger with a dopey smile on his face. "I'm glad you're here. It sucked when you were sleeping."

"I'm sure it did. I hear you were quite insufferable."

Luffy makes a half-embarrassed noise, and his grin turns sheepish. "Yeah, guess so. Your crew was really on edge, Torao."

There's a pang of something like guilt in Law's chest, making him close his eyes briefly before he's distracted by Luffy pressing the tips of his fingers on the skin above his heart, like he's about to reach in. Luffy has an oddly focused look on his face, his brows furrowed lightly and his mouth drawn into a thoughtful line.

"You know," he eventually muses, "If you'd give your heart for me to keep, I would take care of it."

Law arcs one eyebrow, surprised. "I know you would. Why are you —"

"It would probably feel really weird to have someone else's heart inside me, right?" Luffy asks, and he sounds a bit excited, like the potential weirdness of it is what draws him to the idea. "You could do that with your powers, right? You could swap them?"

"I could," Law agrees, slowly.

"Will you, just for a little while?"

"No." Luffy blinks, his expression caught between confusion and outrage, and Law sighs. "It's a big commitment. I don't want to drop dead when I'm walking on the street because you decided to get shot again or something. Besides, I can't use my ability right now, remember?"

"Oh, right." Luffy relaxes against Law's chest again, letting out a long, warm breath. "It would be cool though, I'd know if something happened to you. Even if we were oceans apart, I would know."

"You have my vivre card. Isn't that the same thing?" Law points out.

Luffy frowns briefly, his eyes flicking away from Law's face. "No, it's… A vivre card is nice and all, but I don't need it to find you. I have Nami for that. Your heart would tell me way more than a piece of paper — you'd always be with me, like that."

Law smiles. "I suppose so."

They fall into a comfortable silence after that, Luffy's eyelashes tickling Law's skin. Law thinks about swapping hearts and how ridiculously cheesy that would be, though he won't deny that a part of him is curious about it. What would it feel like having a piece of Luffy inside him like that? Sex jokes aside, it should be impossible to feel lonely like that right, with Luffy's heart inside his chest at all times.

He did once make a promise on a battlefield, amidst blood and bullets and pain — should Luffy fall Law would follow and fall with him. Law doesn't make a habit out of breaking promises. This alliance is built to last, broken only when one of them is buried.

Then again, the idea of dying while he's brushing his teeth or something just because Luffy took one wrong stop on the Sunny's balustrade isn't that appealing, either.

Law doesn't know what to think about it, so he files it away for further contemplation at a later date. An alliance is one thing and dating his ally is another, but swapping hearts? That sounds like a lot of commitment.

Law wraps an arm around Luffy, smoothing it over his back in slow circles. "I can't promise that, you know," he says then, measuring each syllable carefully before he says it. "I can't promise not to die. It's like you said — we're pirates, and that's dangerous. Exchanging hearts does nothing to change that."

"Mmm," Luffy mumbles. "Not asking you to," he continues tiredly, the words slurred against Law's chest. "Just asking you to not do it for me."

"I can try." Law presses a kiss into Luffy's hair, and Luffy hums happily. His eyes are falling shut, his body limp and pliable. It's an odd thing, watching someone who can make kingdoms fall with fists and will alone relinquish himself so, relaxing this fully in Law's arms. It makes Law feel mighty, and so mightily fond.

He stays awake while Luffy sleeps, thinking about the sea and the look on his nakama's faces when he woke up, the look on Luffy's face when he saw Law again.

He loves Luffy, but he can never tell him that.

It's not that he doesn't mean it, far from it. In his heart he knows it to be true, he knows that Luffy's more important to him than anything. But everyone he's ever said it to is now long dead, and the words seem cursed to Law. If he never says the words, then it's easier to keep denying the fact that he's let someone else get close again, easier to deny that Luffy is indeed in his arms, willingly vulnerable.

Saying them would make everything just way too real, and Law would honestly prefer not to.

Though Luffy didn't exactly give him a choice; he tore down Law's walls faster than he could have ever hoped to build them back up. Now, in the aftermath of it all Law wonders if he ever even stood a chance against Luffy's onslaught.

Luffy groans in his sleep, and Law pulls a blanket to cover them from the chill of the room. He runs his fingers through Luffy's hair lazily, and Luffy calms again, snuffling sweetly in his sleep. Law stares at him, smiles and thinks.

He thinks about how much he cares for this impossible man, this small hurricane that will one day be King. He would die for Luffy. He would stay by his side until the end. He wants Luffy, needs Luffy, loves Lu—

He doesn't really mean to say it, but as he thinks about the words — the truth he's worked so hard to deny — the emotion that swells within becomes too much to contain.

To hell with it.

"I love you," Law whispers, his voice no more than a tremulous breath.

For a moment he waits, somehow expecting the sea to swallow him whole again now that he's said it, as if he's greatly disturbed the world order now. He listens to his breathing, to Luffy's breathing, and the sea is calm like it was a minute ago.

Nothing changes. Snow falls outside, stars twinkle in the dark sky, and the waves rock the Sunny gently, as if to sooth the crew slumbering inside.

Luffy's soft snores fill the air. No one heard Law.

That makes the words no less true.

* * *

 _ **A/N: One more chapter to go to wrap this up, hope you enjoyed this one too! Happy holidays everyone ^^**_


	7. Breakfast

**Chapter 7: Breakfast**

The night is calm as the sea, and though his mind is weary and his body still in recovery, Trafalgar Law fights sleep.

Luffy sleeps plastered to his side, his arms wrapped loosely around Law's torso exactly like he had on that one fateful morning a week ago. Law remembers the sleepy grin on his lips when he'd been waking up as clearly as he remembers the look on Luffy's face back when he'd thought Law would die at sea.

All that must have been years ago, surely, because there's no way it happened only days ago. Somehow, everything and nothing has changed since then.

Law closes his eyes, exhales slowly. The waves rock the Sunny gently as they hit her sides, and wind whistles outside as it chases the remnants of yesterday's snow storm out to the sea. The Sunny has heating, but the chill of the winter island still permeates the air to a point where Law knows that he'd be shivering without Luffy's body heat.

Without thinking, he starts running his fingers through Luffy's messy hair. The movement is slow, almost lethargic. His every muscle and joint aches, but it's a good kind of ache, an ache that speaks of healing. Law's body is mending itself, and Luffy's steady breathing against his back sure isn't hurting that process.

He keeps twisting the heavy words he'd said in his mind. He still doubts he said them out loud, though he did, heard his own voice say the syllables clear as day. It's surreal, regardless. The Sunny hasn't been attacked, the sky hasn't fallen, and the seas haven't roared in discontent. The only thing that his confession has caused is the weird pressure in Law's chest, fidgety and warm.

Despite his efforts, he must have dozed off at some point. One moment he's blinking slowly at the ceiling as the world blurs around the edges, and he's so warm… and the next Luffy's arm slaps him in the face, waking him up with a jolt.

He groans, tempted to push Luffy off the bed like he usually would. Instead he glares at him and shoves Luffy's arm off his face, forcefully bending it in a way that would be horribly unnatural for anyone not made of rubber. Oblivious to his boyfriend's ire, Luffy snores on.

It's funny, really. A year ago Law had been preparing to betray Luffy and leave him for death, and now it's become painfully obvious that he's willing to die for him. Luffy's terrifying like that — the power he holds in the tips of his fingers and the curve of his smile is almost devastating in how easily it lets him sway others with his influence.

Law looks at Luffy with half lidded eyes, observes. While he watches, Luffy mutters half-formed words in his sleep, eyes moving under closed lids. His hair is a mess and his skin is clammy, and the bunching of the sheets have left reddish marks on his arms. There's a spot of drool under his cheek, colouring the beige sheets in a darker brown, and as Law watches, Luffy scrunches his nose and scratches his ass.

Law thinks that he looks gorgeous.

There's a small chance that he's a bit biased, but whatever.

As Law watches, a snore catches in Luffy's throat and his expression twists, his brows knitting together lightly. He groans, lips pursing together only to be pulled taut around a grimace seconds after. His eyes flicker to and fro under now tightly clenched lids, and Law pulls back. Luffy seemed so peaceful and calm not two seconds ago. Is he… Is he having a nightmare?

Luffy mutters a short word over and over again, but it comes out so muffled and slurred that it's only through repetition that Law realises Luffy's saying his name. His actual, real name.

"What are you dreaming about?" he murmurs, his voice tight and only slightly above a whisper.

Law takes Luffy's hand in his, mutters a few words he hopes sound somewhat comforting but probably aren't even words to begin with. He might be saying something completely nonsensical, really, but it doesn't seem to matter much; Luffy calms down immediately upon hearing Law's voice. His features even out and his breathing goes back to normal.

"Good," Law breathes out. He's still holding onto Luffy's hand gently, his thumb rubbing circles on the back of the slightly sweaty palm. It makes perfect sense if he thinks about it rationally, and after seeing Luffy break down yesterday one could argue that Law should have seen this coming, even.

Nothing hurts Luffy more than seeing his most cherished people in pain, and a reminder of that pain and anger still lingers as a reminder in the sore spot on Law's jaw. The idea of Luffy having to live with those emotions is frustrating, unbearable. Not that Law's one to talk.

His eyes flick to the empty bedpost on which Luffy usually hangs his hat whenever he occupies the captain's quarters. The hat's not there now, and Law's not sure where Bepo might have left it. All he knows is that he needs to go get Luffy's hat because Luffy is going to want it on his head when he wakes up.

Law moves to get up, running his fingers through his messy hair and _whoa_ , fuck that. Abort mission.

A wave of vertigo washes over Law, and the room spins around him faster than he can keep up with. Suddenly he's sitting on the bed again, made lightheaded by the sound of his own thundering pulse. Belatedly, Law realises that he actually feels like shit — like he could use about thirty years' worth of sleep or maybe a bullet between the eyes. Either would work to make every muscle in his body to shut the fuck up and stop whining.

After taking a fairly long moment to steady himself, Law pushes himself back up to his feet. He has a mission now, and all things considered he should probably get something to eat too. The last thing he's eaten was lunch on the Polar Tang.

Even though the captain's quarters had been cold enough that he'd all but frozen his butt off while putting his pants back on, Law somehow still finds a way to forget that they are literally docked on a goddamn winter island. So naturally he wanders out to the deck without his coat, like an idiot. Thankfully, the trek to the galley isn't exactly a marathon.

Law's surprised to see Sanji in the kitchen — the sun hasn't even started to rise, and yet the cook is there, his back turned to Law as he works on something. Based on his own internal clock Law guesses that it's probably close to 3 AM, nowhere near breakfast time.

As Law walks closer and takes a seat by the table, he notes that the cook is preparing a meal, no, a veritable feast. There's a mountain of carrots waiting to be chopped on the table, and a huge slab of meat is marinating on the counter. Robin had mentioned something about a Sea King they'd killed some days ago…

"You're up late," he states as a way of greeting, though none is needed. Sanji has sensed his entrance and only shrugs in reply.

"Luffy didn't eat much while you were knocked out, so I have a lot of preparing to do unless you want to go hungry during breakfast tomorrow."

"Fair enough," Law agrees. "I came to get Luffy-ya's hat before he wakes up. He'd be upset in the morning if it wasn't at arm's reach."

"You got that right," Sanji agrees. He points to one of the stools where Luffy's straw hat hangs on the backrest, waiting for its owner. "I promised your polar bear I'd keep an eye on it before he headed back."

Law nods idly and reaches for his ally's crown. He runs his fingers over the worn straw, comparing it in his mind to his own hat. His is much softer, though the fur is worn and patches of it are left thinner from where a lucky enemy managed to nick the hat but not the head underneath. It never ceases to bewilder him how the hat seems to never get as much as a scratch on it even though Luffy dances with death so often that it could be called a hobby. It must share Luffy's luck.

In a sense it's funny — out of the two of them, Luffy loves winter islands but wears a hat designed for warmth, while Law dislikes them and wears a warm fur beanie.

Sanji hums a low tune as he cooks, and to his surprise, Law recognises it. He taps his fingers on the counter to the tune without giving it much thought; more to fill the silence than anything else.

"That's from North Blue," he mutters after a moment. "I didn't know you spent enough time there to learn nursery rhymes."

"I didn't," comes Sanji's blunt reply. "Shut up."

Law doesn't know the details of what took place on Whole Cake Island, and he doesn't need to. Luffy hadn't mentioned much about the retrieval mission once they'd reunited on Wano, and Law hadn't asked. All he knows are the main points, but seeing as they'd been recounted to him by one slightly drunk Usopp who'd in turn heard the tale from Nami. He's not sure how much weight he can put on the words.

He had noticed, though, that Sanji took watch many nights after that, and that sometimes he gives this look to his captain, and something happened back then; something ground-shaking. He still doesn't ask.

"I must be mistaken then," he conceded, and a stiffness he hadn't picked up on before disappears from the curve of Sanji's spine. After another moment, the teapot Law hadn't noticed Sanji turned on beeps to signal the water being ready, and Sanji reaches for a cup without looking. Before Law can blink, a cup of tea is placed in front of him.

"Thanks. You didn't need to do that."

"'S my job. You don't need to ask."

Law nods and drinks his tea. It's hot enough to almost scald his tongue but not quite — just the way he likes it. Warmth spreads from his chest to his toes, and Law breathes in the steam contently.

"Can't sleep?" Sanji asks then, but it's obvious to Law that he couldn't give half a shit on how much rest he's gotten. He's just making conversation. Maybe he needs something else to think about, too.

"I'm fine," he replies evenly, gives Sanji a shrug with one shoulder. "Straw Hat-ya snores."

Sanji scoffs, but it sounds like a laugh. "Like a dying Sea King, yeah. I know. I'm sure you remember how loud the men's quarters get when they're all asleep."

"I remember, yes. _Unfortunately."_

Sanji chuckles at the resigned tone in Law's voice, "At least Nami-san and Robin-san don't have to put up with that shit."

Law mutters something non-committal, and he watches as Sanji begins humming a different tune, twirling the knife in his hand expertly every time he goes to get new carrots before eventually moving onto slicing leeks. It almost looks like a dance move, the way his wrist moves to spin the knife.

"You seem to be in a good mood," Law mentions, and the air between them gets sharper around the edges for a second before Sanji sighs and puts the cigarette he'd had in his mouth back on the table, clenched between his fingers.

"Luffy's back to normal again. If there even is a normal to all, eh, _this_ ," he says, gesturing vaguely around him to indicate just what 'this' is.

"Even when fishing us up ruined your shoes?" Law quips dryly — Nami had not failed to bill him for those, either.

Sanji scoffs. "I don't mind the shoes. What I do mind is that my Captain didn't eat or sleep or smile much while you were out, and now the idiot's eating again. So, yeah. I'm glad you're up, Trafalgar."

Law wasn't expecting an answer this earnest, and it catches him off guard. He resigns himself to staring at his tea cup, not knowing what to say. "Thank you, Black Leg-ya," he settles on finally, glancing up at the Straw Hats' cook from under the lip of his cap. "For saving my life. I owe you one."

"Don't mention it. Luffy would bitch and whine about it forever if we ever let anything happen to you, _Torao._ You guys are kind of a package deal now, like it or not." Sanji puts the knife away, done with the cutting board for now, and he leans against the bar counter languidly. "Besides, it was primarily my Captain's sorry hide I dived in for, so don't make a big fuss out of it."

"Package deal?" Law repeats to himself. He hadn't considered it to be like that, but maybe it was.

"Yeah, two idiots at the price of one." Sanji cleans his hands in the apron around his waist, and then brushes his bangs off his visible eye. "Listen, I'm not going to start actually cooking anything for at least a couple of hours, so you still have some time to sleep. You can take the couch if you want; Mosshead is on night watch."

The 'you look like shit' is left unsaid, but Law doesn't need to hear it to read between the lines. "Thanks," he says, and he means it, makes an effort to sound casual and sincere at the same time.

"Whatever." Sanji shifts his weight. He seems like he's considering something. "Don't let the whole package deal thing go to your head either, Torao- _kun_. You're still a shithead like the rest of them."

Law gives an exasperated but friendly huff. "Of course not," he assures as he gets up, leaving Sanji to his lot.

Law heads straight down the stairs, to the main deck. Luffy's straw hat is still tightly in his grasp. The air outside is just as bad as he remembered, and god, Law hates hates _hates_ winter islands. How dare they be so cold and wet and, ugh, _cold?_ As Law contemplates this, a strong gale coming from the ocean smacks him in the face, and Law's cheeks sting with the cold. He has snow in his eye now. _Great._

It's a testament to his fatigue that Law only notices Luffy's presence zero-point-two seconds before the younger pirate barrels into him. He tries to brace himself, lowering his stance into one that's almost defensive, but the deck is frosted and slippery underneath the coat of snow. Law winds up flat on his ass on the Sunny's lawn for a second time in twenty-four hours.

"Torao!" Luffy snickers. He's wound up straddling Law's waist, but thankfully, he'd had the sense of mind to put on his clothes before venturing out into the chilly night. "You were gone when I woke up. Where'd you go?"

"I left to get your hat, idiot." Through all this Law managed to keep his hold on Luffy's treasure, which he now shoves in Luffy's face before pushing his allied captain off him.

Luffy lands in the snow giggling, one hand rising to push the straw hat off his face. He looks at Law from underneath the brim, eyes sparkling with genuine joy that wasn't there yesterday. "Thanks! I was wondering where it ended up."

"Bepo took care of it and then passed it on to Black Leg-ya," Law explains. He pushes himself up, leaning back to sit against the staircase wall. "We should get back inside."

Luffy tilts his head to the side. "It's not that cold. Wait, are you cold?"

Law isn't, not really — they're still by the main mast, in the small alcove created by the staircases leading on the deck, which is not nearly as close an imitation of a winter wonderland as other parts of the Sunny. The staircases and the mast also prove to be good shields from the previously so piercing wind, and they're still close enough to the aft that the warmth generated from the kitchen and engine room radiate through the wooden walls.

It was kind of beautiful in a way, out on the empty deck with Luffy. Law watches the snow fall slowly on the railings, and he shakes his head.

"Not really that cold yet, no," he slowly replies. He pulls himself up so he can sit on the banister surrounding the main mast, leaning against the coated wood. At least his ass won't freeze this way. "We shouldn't stay out for long, regardless."

Luffy grins, dimples denting his cheeks. "Sure thing. Wait, hold on." He pecks a quick kiss on Law's hand and then he's disappeared into the galley quicker than Law can even blink, one hand grabbing onto the railing above them so he can swing himself up. It takes five seconds for Law to hear Sanji shouting, and then Luffy returns, two bottles of sake clinking together in his hands.

"This'll keep you warm," he declares. There's a slight, almost noticeable flush on his cheeks from the frosty air, and Law doesn't catch himself staring. "Hey, say something," Luffy demands. "Did you fall asleep or something?"

"No, of course not," Law sputters. "Why do you want to be outside?"

Luffy snickers freely, like he's never worried about a thing in his life. "It's pretty here. Besides, the captain's room is all stuffy and the sheets are too gross for you to sleep in, and I don't feel like changing them."

"You never do," Law points out, because it's always him changing the sheets because _yes,_ he's picky and _yes,_ he likes clean bedclothes. "I don't suppose you mean you want to sleep out here."

"Nah." Luffy giggles, his eyes crinkling at the corners with how funny he finds that suggestion. He opens the bottle of sake with his teeth — which is a pretty gross but admittedly very pirate-y move — and offers the bottle to Law. "Why didn't you sleep?"

Law gives Luffy half a smile. "You snore, you know."

"Do I? That's cool!" Luffy sounds like he actually, genuinely thinks snoring is a cool thing to do. Asshole. "You should be used to that though. Is Torao tired now?"

"I'm fine," Law says. "I expected for you to sleep soundly until dawn. What woke you up?"

Luffy shrugs casually. "Got cold."

"That's not going to improve if you sit in the snow like that," Law points out absently, and Luffy puffs his cheeks petulantly. Amused, Law takes a swig out of his sake bottle as Luffy starts listing reasons why sitting in the snow is the best idea ever and Law just _doesn't get it_. Law hears none of it. He stares at the blush on his lover's cheeks and the snowflakes peppered in his clothes and his hair, and he finds himself smiling.

Luffy catches him staring, quirking a brow, and Law busies himself by taking another, longer sip of sake.

Luffy wasn't lying; this would definitely keep him warm. Sanji must have been heating it up for himself, because the sake is almost hot on his tongue, the taste deep and savoury, and it burns pleasantly on the way down his throat.

"Is that too strong for you?" he teases Luffy, who's yet to open his own bottle. Luffy narrows his stare and yanks off the cork from his own bottle, too. He takes a small sip, looking defiantly at Law the whole time. It takes him about half a second to register the burn. Luffy hits his fist against his chest and coughs lightly, muttering something about a nasty taste.

Law smirks at his reaction. During the months that they've travelled together, Law has only seen Luffy accept alcohol when it was offered on a few rare occasions. In fact, he could probably count each time by using just the fingers of one hand, which was a big deal considering how much the Straw Hats like to party.

The only time he's ever seen Luffy drunk was during a party on a summer island, right before the huge mess of an adventure that had somehow ended with Law kissing the future king of pirates for the first time.

"Sake tastes gross," Luffy complains. He still keeps drinking though, if only because he wants to prove Law wrong. "I don't get why you guys drink it for fun."

"It's got some good qualities to it," Law muses, tapping the bottle with his fingers. It's still nice and warm.

Luffy launches into a speech about alcohol that quickly derails into something about octopi and fighting fish. Law nods along, but his attention soon wanders to the sea. It's still too dark to see well past the Sunny's deck, illuminated by torches and lanterns as it is — Law can see the horizon and the glimmering waves that stretch out to wherever his eye can reach, and that's enough for him. Luffy doesn't seem too bothered by Law's silence, even though he probably knows that Law's not paying much attention to what he's being told right now. He still sits on the frosty ground, probably freezing his ass right off, but the grin on his face is worlds big and his brown eyes bright and big above it.

Luffy grows quiet after a while of monologuing, busying himself by drawing crude pictures on the freshly fallen snow instead. He leans his head on Law's knee, and Law can feel his coarse hair poking through the fabric of his jeans.

"Hey, can we play that game, the one from when we were trapped," Luffy asks then, and he continues to announce that he'll go first before Law even gets the chance to deny him. They often go like that, dealings with Straw Hat Luffy. "I like snow."

"You didn't even try this time," Law says with an air of feigned indifference, stifling a laugh.

Luffy sees right through it, and he grins up at Law knowingly. "Torao thinks it's funny."

"You're making assumptions, Straw Hat-ya."

"Call me Luffy, stupid," Luffy says chidingly, "Luffy's my name. We've been over this, in case you forgot or something?"

Law rolls his eyes, covers his smile for as long as it takes to take a sip of his sake. It's not like Luffy calls him by his actual first name either, so the whole argument is nonsensical. Luffy calling _anyone_ stupid is nonsensical. _Luffy_ is nonsensical.

Law sighs. "I don't want to play your games."

"But you're the one who suggested this in the first place!" Law doesn't need to look down at Luffy to know he's pouting. Luffy continues, "This was your game, so play it."

It's an order, and they're both captains. Call it a whim born from the increasing permille count in his blood, or a quirk in his nature — a childish show of pride — but Law doesn't want to comply. He gives Luffy the silent treatment, shifting his gaze back to the dark sea as he basks in the way the sake soothes away the soreness of his body and melts the stiffness in his joints.

Curiously enough, Luffy trails his line of sight to the sea, and he smiles. Law spares him a quick glance just in time to witness a snowflake land on Luffy's nose. It's there for a couple of seconds, and Luffy crosses his eyes to see it before licking it away with a swipe of his overly stretchy tongue.

"I got high off mushrooms once," Luffy says next.

Law quirks an eyebrow, an amused smile tugging at the corner of his mouth. The sake is warming him up slowly, and it takes him a moment to realise Luffy's still playing the stupid game.

"I don't think you've ever been high. Lie."

Luffy grins, dopey with what's part joy, part inebriation. "Damn, you won. But it's not because I haven't been high. It's because I've been high more than once!" The brat snickers, holding his stomach as if that was somehow the joke of the century. Law decides to cut off his sake supply then and there.

He's also more than done playing this damn game.

"How long are you planning to stay on this island?" he asks, more to take Luffy's mind off the task of thinking some other preposterous lie than anything else.

Luffy makes a face, says, "I don't know. I haven't thought about it. Chopper likes it here, so I think we'll be staying for a while. Kaido can wait for a little longer."

 _Kaido's a Yonko,_ Law wants to say. _The Yonko don't wait,_ _they kill and conquer and Kaido's the strongest being on all the Seas._

 _What makes you think you can take him on?_

But Luffy looks at him like he has tomorrow laid flat on the palm of his hand, his to mould and manipulate to his whims, and Law swallows his doubts. He nods, instead, puts away the now empty bottle of sake. "So be it," he agrees, "We'll be leaving tomorrow night, then. We can't stay here for too long, because —"

"Because pirate politics and people hunting us and other boring stuff," Luffy interjects, sticking out his tongue to showcase how silly he finds all that. "Blah, I know."

Law frowns. "It's important, so don't be a baby about it. We might as well be painting targets on our backs by staying on the same island for too long. We have enemies, and neither of us are in any shape for a big fight right now."

Luffy tosses away his bottle, and it falls overboard with a splash. "I don't care about any of that," he counters sharply. "If they show up I'll beat them up and that's that."

Less than twelve hours ago, Law had held Luffy in his arms, desperate to drive away the ebbing self-doubt and fear that gnawed at his lover's normally so strong resolve. He's seen Luffy at his worst and he knows how quickly he bounces back, knows that yesterday's worries have been left in today's shadow. Luffy's moved on, for the very least until the next disaster comes knocking on his door. And it will.

They're wanted men among the marines and the Yonko alike. Blackbeard is still roaming the seas in search of devil fruit users, and that's a danger in its own right — Luffy's crew has four devil fruit users and Law's own fruit is called the ultimate devil fruit for a good reason, and that's too much of a risk for them to breathe easy while Blackbeard's at large.

On top of that there's also the small detail that there are two other Yonkos who'd love to serve the Straw-Heart alliance members' entrails for supper. Big Mom is enraged after the ordeal on Whole Cake Island, and Kaido still has it out for them after Dressrosa.

Luffy makes all that seem like no threat at all.

"I'll be there to beat them up with you," he says, and the words come out clipped but strong in resolve.

Luffy's busying himself by drawing crude pictures on the freshly fallen snow, and only hums a non-committal reply. "I know. We're allies, so we fight together."

Finally, a definition of an alliance Law can somewhat accept as accurate.

"I really don't like it that you have to leave," Luffy adds. "It sucks that you have to go when we both want to stay. It's just for appearances."

Law nods. "It is. But those appearances keep us safe."

"Yeah, yeah. But I want to make a snowman and to have a snow fight and to make snow angels and —"

"You want to play in snow," Law interrupts. "I get it. What's stopping you now?"

Luffy grins a bit, the curve of his lips tired and lazy. "Kinda tired. Kinda cold, too."

Law smiles, and he seals his fate by saying, "I would assume so, you're sitting in a pile of snow. Come here."

Luffy doesn't need to be told twice, and two seconds later Law's got an armful of wet future king of pirates.

The bench that encircles the base of the main mast is too narrow for two people to sit entangled like this, which is something Law realises painfully in about two minutes when the wooden edge starts digging into his hip and the chance of them slipping off the bench grows exponentially bigger.

This might have been a bad idea.

"Are you warm now?" Law asks, and he can feel Luffy's laugh rocking his chest.

"Yeah," Luffy says, his voice pleased like a cat's purr. He snuggles closer to Law, his straw hat getting stuck in between their bodies before Luffy pushes it to the side. "You're warm."

Law hums approvingly, and he tries not to be awkward about how he positions his arms on Luffy's shoulders, pulling him closer still. He doesn't really succeed, fumbling and almost sending them both back on the deck once or twice, but that doesn't matter — Luffy pulls a hundred embarrassing stunts per day, and over time Law's learned that that kind of gives him some leeway. He's learned that the image he wishes to show to others doesn't really matter all that much when it's just Luffy and him, because the seas know Luffy has no room to judge anyone.

He still does, but that's just Luffy for you.

Law looks down at Luffy, expecting to see him staring up with a silly grin on his face, or the opposite: his lover asleep against his chest, a line of drool falling from one corner of his mouth.

Instead, Luffy's eyes are cast out to the sea longingly. The light of the torches dances on his skin, painting his hair with hues of gold. Law can see his breaths puff in the cold air. The faintest hint of a frown twists his features, and Luffy may have moved on from the past, but it was only so he could get lost in potential tomorrows. He's never in very high spirits whenever they have to separate.

For a moment, Law's reminded of that time they spent under the sea, sheltered by the Sunny's mane; of the faraway, sombre look in Luffy's eye when he'd gotten so dangerously quiet. Law doesn't see that look on Luffy's face often, and he never likes it — it's not sad, exactly, but it's not happy either. It's contemplative, a look far too smart and serious to sit on Luffy's face. Law needs to make it right.

He remembers the sea.

On a whim, Law tests the tug of his devil fruit. The power lying dormant within him doesn't give much protest when Law summons a room, just big enough to encompass his hand with its blue glow. He can feel the fatigue returning in full the second he can see the blue shimmer of his powers, but he's dealt with worse for much less.

Luffy's eyes widen, and his mouth opens in a small 'o'. "What are you doing, Torao?"

"You wanted to see the sea, didn't you?" He replies, and it takes a solid ten seconds for Luffy to remember what he's referring to. There had been something Luffy'd wanted, after all, when he'd been moping under the sea.

Law gets up, the radiance of his room painting the thin coat of snow and frost in shades of blue. Luffy's eyes narrow as his mouth opens, gapes with some protest that's left unsaid. He sounds surprisingly serious when his expression relaxes somewhat, asks; "You sure? Chopper said that you shouldn't do that yet."

Law smirks. "I'm a doctor too, and I say it's fine."

Luffy eyes him suspiciously, and then he nods, the crease in his brow disappearing to make way for an excited smile. "Okay then, let's do it!"

He walks over to the railing, and he rests his palms flat on the worn wood as he looks down to the small stretch of the waves below them. The sea is calm, still, and the waves glisten ever so slightly with the moonlight.

Law knows how dumb this is, he really does. He's claimed and proved himself to be exceptionally smart when it comes to most things, and Luffy just isn't one of them.

Besides, he's never been a good patient and he's not about to start now.

Law peeks over his shoulder to where Luffy's still frozen in his spot, and he extends his room. Swapping seawater with air is no task at all even with his weakened capabilities, and soon the deck is painted with blotches of blue and silver.

Law's once again trapping the sea with his powers. If he hadn't earned the Ocean's curse by eating a devil fruit, this probably would have done the trick.

Behind him Luffy lets out a wild whoop, and Law hears snow crunching under sandals as he runs over. The room and the bubble of water trapped inside it are only slightly bigger than the size of Luffy's head, but it's enough - Law can see galaxies in Luffy's eyes with how many stars they hold.

"So cool! You actually did it, Torao!" Luffy's gawking at the piece of sea like he's a small kid staring at the coolest toy in the world. The sullen look is long gone, like it was never there in the first place.

"Of course I did," Law mutters smugly.

"You're the best!" Luffy crushes him in a hug, and Law sees it coming from a mile away, knows to shift his weight lower in time lest they'd both fall flat on their asses, soaked with seawater. A part of him laments the fact that he's gotten familiar enough with Luffy that he _can_ weather him this well.

Luffy laughs against his side, squeezing Law tight once more before he let's go of the older pirate and turns back to the bubble of seawater. There's something reverent, something almost awed in his gaze, and it makes Law feel like maybe this wasn't such a dumb idea after all.

The water inside the orb swirls and spins lazily, tiny bubbles of air rushing to the surface in spirals. It's uncomfortable to think about how something so beautiful could have ended their lives. Sure as hell wasn't from lack of trying.

Luffy reaches toward the floating orb and almost touches it with the tips of his fingers, and Law watches as the smaller pirate pokes his finger experimentally in the ice-cold water. He pulls his fingers back quickly with a yelp and holds them close, blowing warm air on them. "That's too cold!" he informs Law, as if that wasn't sort of obvious to anyone with common sense. "I wouldn't have been able to swim in that."

"You don't swim, Luffy-ya. And it would have been even colder near the sea bottom," Law tells him, though Luffy's only half-listening at this point.

"That's cool," he murmurs absently. He leans forward to get his face as close to the cerulean orb as he can. His nose pokes through the surface, entering the frigid water, and Luffy begins to giggle, snorts some seawater up his nose in the process, and fuck if that isn't cute. Law grins, and he tries to make the bubble even bigger to impress Luffy.

The bubble grows in size, as does Luffy's awed grin, and this might have been the best idea Law's had all day —

Suddenly, as if to spite him for just thinking that a wave of dizziness hits Law, and he let's go of the room. Sea water splashes on deck, which is suddenly getting closer and closer. He doesn't realise he's falling until he hits the planks.

All of this happens in the span of two seconds, and next to him, Luffy yelps in surprise. "Crap, Law! Are you okay?"

It takes Law a moment to process that he probably needs to reply to that in some way.

"I'm fine," he assures, because he is fine. No, really. The world is just spinning more than it usually does. Luffy seems worried, asking if he should go get Chopper, and Law brushes him off. He pushes himself up so he can lean on his elbows, and he continues to brush off Luffy's awkward and uncoordinated plays at caring for him to the point where the younger captain gets frustrated with his evasiveness.

Luffy shoots Law a look and hauls him in his arms without ceremony. "We're gonna go see Chopper," he declares. If Law's arms weren't pretending to be noodles he would have buried his face in his palms by now.

"We don't need to do that. I'm _okay,_ I'm not hurt. Put me down!" he orders, and he really is fine; the world's no longer spinning and he's regained his senses. The only downsides that still remain from his little stunt are a budding headache and some well-earned fatigue. Sleep would help both. Or caffeine.

Luffy narrows his eyes at Law, disbelieving. "You don't look fine. You collapsed."

"I lost focus, okay? That's all." Law slumps in Luffy's hold, because that's all there is to do, really. It's not like Luffy is planning to let go of him any time soon. "Surely Chopper's asleep by now, we shouldn't disturb him. I'm fine."

Luffy purses his lips, and he doesn't look happy about it when he carries Law back to the bench they'd been sitting on before, but he does it anyway. He sets Law down carefully, and then stands before him with his hands on his hips.

"Torao?"

"Yeah?"

"No more water bubble thingies until you're better."

"Wouldn't dream of it."

Satisfied with the answer he was given, Luffy climbs back in his lap without warning. He tangles his legs with Law's in a way that's only feasible for a rubber man, red toes wiggling in the freezing air.

He elbows Law in the face as he settles, and Law merely grunts his protest. He wraps his arms around the smaller pirate, and if it weren't for the headache and the chilly wind, he might have considered giving sleep a chance. He can feel Luffy's lean but muscular frame underneath his cardigan, the skin warm to the touch despite the arctic temperatures.

"You know you don't have to worry about me. Makes me look bad," Law murmurs in his ear, making Luffy giggle. He tilts his head up so he can look at Law, and Law can feel the warm puffs of his exhales hit his neck.

"I don't worry. You're strong and I'm strong, so I don't need to worry. But we're allies, so I gotta look out for you, right?"

Law can't argue with that. "I suppose."

They sit like that for a while, with Luffy's breath warm against Law's neck and Law's arms tight around the shell of his body. Luffy murmurs half-formed thoughts every once in a while, only about a third of them realistic or relevant, and Law listens, hums his reactions. He's so tired, he really might fall asleep there and then. With Luffy next to him, he feels safe enough to sleep pretty much anywhere.

"You know I'd never leave you, right?" he mumbles, because it's suddenly very important to him that Luffy knows that.

"Yeah," Luffy says. "As long as it's up to you."

Law's brows lower back to his eyes, bunching together in the lightest of frowns, and he doesn't get why Luffy'd say that, not fully. Sanji's behaviour and what little he knows point him to the right direction though.

"As long as it's up to me, yes." He shifts his weight, pulls Luffy so close that there's no space at all left between them, Luffy fitting snugly in the space between his arms. "And even when it's not up to me, I can count on you to come get me."

Luffy grins. He stretches his neck to press a soft kiss to the corner of Law's mouth, gentle and loving. "Damn right you can."

Law cups his hand on the back of Luffy's head and pushes his lips against Luffy's. The kiss is chaste, and it tastes like a promise. When they separate, Law pecks another, quicker kiss on Luffy's nose, and Luffy giggles when he lets his neck snap back to place.

"Hey, final round."

"No."

Luffy stretches his words in a childish plea, "C'mon, just one! Then we _never_ have to play again."

Law sighs, and he nods. He realises his mistake as soon as Luffy tilts his head up to look him in the eye. Law's yet to see the devil, but he wagers that his smile would look a lot like Luffy's.

"Torao loves me." Luffy's words come out quiet, at the same time oddly serious and light.

Law scowls, but his voice lowers to a whisper, too. "That's cheating and you know it."

"Maybe, but anything is fair in a pirates' game. Answer me, Torao, or give up."

"Fuck you," Law mutters. For a moment he considers conceding, because he's a grownup who doesn't need to win some childish game. The expectant look on Luffy's face convinces him otherwise; he's also a grown-up who doesn't believe in curses or superstitions or any other bullshit things like that, and he sure as hell won't back down from a challenge cast by his equal.

Besides, he already said it once.

"So?" Luffy asks quietly.

"It's not a lie," Law admits stiffly, feeling kind of silly about making such a big fuss about three simple words. He forgets all about feeling silly as soon as he catches a glimpse of the man he just admitted loving. Luffy looks so fucking cocky Law just might have to strangle him.

"I knew it!" Luffy boasts. He looks almost coy, "You don't have to say it for real though, Torao. We're 'just allies', right?"

"Don't throw that in my face, Luffy-ya. We _are_ allies!"

Luffy's snicker chimes with the wind, the cadence of it bouncing off the walls, determined to make Law smile. And it does. Fuck, Luffy's so annoying.

He kisses the victoriously smug grin off Luffy's face. "You're the worst, Straw Hat-ya."

"You are too," Luffy points out. He hums in thought, then. "Hey, do you think Sanji's cooked breakfast yet?"

The familiarity of those words makes Law smile, and he squeezes Luffy's hand tightly before letting go and getting up. There's no use in keeping the future king waiting, especially not when it comes to a meal. "He was up already, was he not?"

"Yeah!"

"Let's go check it out, then. Or we could raid the kitchen, of course."

Luffy pumps his fist in the air, and his grin could conquer worlds. "Sweet, follow me!"

They go get breakfast.

* * *

 _ **A/N: That's it! Thank you so much for sticking with me on this year long journey, it's been really fun. Thank you for the comments and your patience, they both mean the world to me. Reviews are very much welcomed even though the fic is completed, they help me improve ^^**_


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